PUBLICATION  NO.  7 


WHAT  SOCIAL  WORKERS  SHOULD 
KNOW  ABOUT  THEIR  OWN 
COMMUNITIES 

AN  OUTLINE 

BY  MARGARET  F.  BYINGTON 

ASSOCIATE  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  DEPARTMENT 
OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

AUTHOR  OF 

"  HOMESTEAD,  THE  HOUSEHOLDS  OF  A  MILL  TOWN  ” 


SECOND  EDITION 

Revised  and  Enlarged 


CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 
RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 
Room  613,  105  East  Twenty-second  Street 

NEW  YORK  CITY 

1912 


WHAT  SOCIAL  WORKERS  SHOULD 
KNOW  ABOUT  THEIR  OWN 
COMMUNITIES 


AN  OUTLINE 


BY  MARGARET  F.  BYINGTON 

ASSOCIATE  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  DEPARTMENT 
OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

AUTHOR  OF 

“  HOMESTEAD,  THE  HOUSEHOLDS  OF  A  MILL  TOWN  ” 


SECOND  EDITION 

Revised  and  Enlarged 


CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 
RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 
Room  613,  105  East  Twenty-second  Street 

NEW  YORK  CITY 

1912 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION  . 

I—  THE  CITY  . 

II—  COMMUNITY  PROBLEMS 

A.  Housing  . 

B.  Health  . 

C.  Recreation  . 

D.  Industrial  Problems  . . 

E.  The  Immigrant  . 

F.  Children  . . 

x.  Child  Labor  . 

2.  Schools  . 

3.  Juvenile  Delinquents 

G.  Adult  Delinquents  .  . . 


PAGE 

•  3 

•  7 

.  8 

•  9 
.  XI 

•  14 

•  17 
.  21 
.  22 
.  22 

•  24 
.  26 
.  28 


III— AGENCIES  FOR  RELIEF  AND  FOR  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF 
SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  . . . 

H.  Agencies  not  Primarily  Philanthropic  . 

Women’s  Clubs,  Churches,  Settlements,  etc . 

I.  Philanthropic  Agencies . 

1.  Public  Outdoor  Relief  . 

2.  Care  of  Homeless  Men  . 

3.  Private  Relief  . 

4.  The  Organization  of  Charity . 

5.  Child  Caring  . 

6.  Care  of  the  Sick  . 

7.  Defectives  . 

8.  The  Aged  . 


30 

31 
33 

33 

34 

35 
35 

38  , 

39 

40 

41 


2 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 


That  the  first  edition  of  ten  thousand  of  this  pamphlet  has  been 
exhausted  in  less  than  a  year  indicates  that  it  has  met  a  definite  need. 
While  the  major  part  of  the  edition  was  distributed  free,  many  orders  in 
quantities  were  also  received  from  colleges,  schools  of  philanthropy,  Men 
and  Religion  social  service  committees,  social  workers’  clubs,  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Associations,  women’s  clubs,  libraries,  charity  organi¬ 
zation  societies  and  central  councils.  That  so  many  different  types  of 
organization  have  found  it  worth  while,  instead  of  being  satisfied  with 
superficial  generalizations,  to  search  out  the  answers  to  these  detailed 
questions,  means  that  the  country  is  beginning  to  realize  the  need  of 
concrete  social  facts. 

Some  of  the  uses  made  of  the  pamphlet  may  be  suggestive.  Candi¬ 
dates  for  civil  service  positions  under  the  Board  of  Public  Welfare  in 
Kansas  City  have  used  it  in  preparing  for  the  examinations.  The  social 
service  conference  in  St.  Louis  has  compiled  the  information  called  for, 
and  placed  it  at  the  disposal  of  any  social  worker  in  the  city,  with  the 
suggestion  that  each  agency  copy  for  its  own  office  the  sections  relating 
to  its  special  work.  In  Baltimore,  some  of  the  main  facts  for  the  city 
have  been  filed  in  the  central  office  of  the  Federated  Charities,  while 
volunteer  district  committees  are  taking  up  the  more  detailed  study  of 
certain  sections  which  seem  to  have  a  special  bearing  on  their  own  tasks. 

Two  instances  may  be  given  more  in  detail.  Stamford,  Connecticut, 
with  a  population  of  25,000  and  a  charity  organization  society  two  years 
old,  had  little  knowledge  of  its  community  problems.  At  the  end  of  the 
society’s  first  winter’s  work,  a  number  of  volunteers  under  the  guidance 
of  its  secretary  undertook  to  secure  the  information  suggested  in  this 
outline.  For  each  topic  a  committee  was  appointed,  most  of  them  volun¬ 
teers  who  had  served  on  the  case  committee,  though  they  also  utilized  the 
services  of  some  others — of  young  lawyers,  for  instance.  Information 


3 


gathered  was  typewritten  and  filed.  When,  a  year  later,  a  new  general 
secretary  came  to  the  society,  she  did  not  have  to  accumulate  knowledge 
of  state  legislation  or  local  agencies  all  over  again,  for  here  was  much  of 
it  at  hand.  It  may  be  suggested  that  the  material  compiled  should  be 
gone  over  from  time  to  time,  every  summer  perhaps,  to  make  necessary 
changes.  To  one  volunteer  might  be  assigned  the  task  of  entering  on  the 
record  all  current  alterations,  such  as  new  laws,  new  officials  and  new 
activities. 

An  entirely  different  use  of  the  outline  was  made  by  the  Central 
Council  of  Charities  in  Nashville.  A  visit  was  to  be  made  by  Mr. 
Francis  H.  McLean  (then  Field  Secretary  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Department)  to  diagnose  their  situation  and  make  a  plan  for  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  city’s  social  activities.  As  a  basis  he  asked  them  to  secure  for 
him  before  his  arrival  the  data  herein  suggested.  Thus  he  had  ready  to 
his  hand  enough  information  to  enable  him  to  judge  what  problems  were 
most  urgent  and  so  in  need  of  further  investigation.  In  a  town  not  ready 
for  or  not  needing  a  formal  social  survey,  this  series  of  questions  may 
serve  to  awaken  interest  and  point  the  way  for  future  activities. 

The  first  edition  has  been  thoroughly  revised,  and  a  number  of 
questions  have  been  added,  after  consultation  with  the  secretaries  and 
field  agents  of  the  national  associations  that  are  often  referred  to  in  the 
text. 

New  York,  April,  1912. 


4 


WHAT  SOCIAL  WORKERS  SHOULD 
KNOW  ABOUT  THEIR  OWN 
COMMUNITIES 


This  is  not  a  plan  for  a  social  survey;  it  suggests  rather  those  facts 
about  local  conditions  which  are  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  for 
service  of  the  volunteer  or  of  the  regular  in  the  social  army.  In  ful¬ 
filling  his  task,  whatever  it  may  be,  the  worker  must  rely  for  help  on 
other  organized  forces,  on  state  laws  and  local  ordinances,  on  city  depart¬ 
ments  and  volunteer  agencies.  He  will,  moreover,  find  his  problem  so 
dovetailing  with  other  problems  that  all  must  be  worked  out  jointly  if 
anything  is  to  be  achieved. 

The  knowledge  of  these  forces  and  agencies  is  of  special  importance 
to  one  who  works  among  needy  families,  since  he  must  utilize  them 
constantly  in  the  rehabilitation  of  individual  families.  Conversely,  he 
should  learn  from  the  study  of  dependency  in  these  families  what  reforms 
are  most  needed,  and  be  able  to  focus  the  efforts  of  all  agencies  with  a 
social  program  in  order  to  secure  the  reforms  thus  made  real  to  him. 
The  subjects  chosen  for  this  Outline,  therefore,  though  by  no  means 
referring  solely  to  family  problems,  are  here  related  to  them,  as  giving  the 
most  practical  and  inclusive  view-point. 

It  may  seem,  in  glancing  through  the  pages  of  questions  which 
follow  that  so  many  of  the  answers  are  already  known,  in  a  general 
way  at  least,  that  the  study  is  not  worth  making.  Even  to  busy  people, 
however,  it  will  probably  repay  the  time  spent  on  it.  Specific  facts  are 
more  valuable  than  general  impressions,  and  information  is  useful  in 
proportion  as  it  is  concrete  and  quickly  available.  Whatever  information 
is  secured,  therefore,  should  be  definite.  For  example,  get  the  specific 
wording  of  laws  when  this  is  possible,  not  merely  the  general  scope. 
Separate  reprints  of  recent  bills  can  almost  always  be  procured  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  at  the  State  Capitol.  It  should  also  be  accurate. 
Simple,  accurate  statistics  are  better  than  elaborate,  unreliable  ones. 
“This  law  wras  violated  twenty  times  last  year”  is  much  more  convincing 
than  “the  law  is  often  violated.”  If  an  estimate  is  the  only  possible 


5 


answer  to  a  question,  so  label  it  and  give  the  basis  of  the  estimate.  When 
possible,  compare  the  figures  for  a  given  city  with  those  for  other  cities 
of  the  same  size;  this  will  show  their  real  significance. 

A  plea  may  also  be  made  for  the  more  thoroughgoing  use  by  social 
workers  of  the  invaluable  material  contained  in  the  United  States  Census. 
Even  for  smaller  cities  facts  in  regard  to  the  number,  age,  nationality, 
literacy  and  occupations  of  the  population  are  easily  found  in  the  volumes 
on  Population  and  Occupations.  All  such  facts  should  be  secured  at  the 
beginning  of  this  study  and  referred  to  frequently  as  it  proceeds.  For 
example,  school  attendance  figures,  the  number  of  juvenile  delinquents^ 
and  the  number  of  children  using  parks  and  other  recreation  centers 
should  be  compared  with  the  number  of  children  under  fourteen.  The 
number  of  foreign-born  illiterates  may  be  an  argument  for  evening  classes 
in  English.  The  annual  report  on  mortality  gives  birth  and  death  rates; 
the  annual  summary  of  statistics  about  cities  of  over  30,000  gives  the  state 
and  local  systems  of  taxation,  expenditures  of  the  various  city  depart¬ 
ments,  the  amount  of  the  city  debt,  area  of  parks  and  playgrounds,  etc. 
There  is  as  yet  no  statement  published  of  the  special  data  which  the  1910 
Census  will  provide,  but  the  Bureau  has  planned  to  make  it  of  special 
value  to  social  workers.  It  is  therefore  important  to  watch  the  bulletins 
as  they  come  out  and  gather  from  them  all  the  information  they  can  give 
you  about  your  own  community. 

Many  of  these  facts  may  be  secured  by  correspondence  or  by  personal 
inquiry  of  officials.  Before  calling  on  an  official,  however,  do  not  fail  to 
have  secured  and  digested  his  printed  report.  Your  questions  will  be 
more  to  the  point  and  his  willingness  to  answer  them  far  greater  if  you 
have  taken  the  trouble  to  acquire  some  knowledge  in  advance. 

Do  not  be  discouraged  if  officials  do  not  have  the  figures  for  which 
you  ask.  The  request  itself  will  make  them  realize  that  social  workers 
consider  such  facts  important.  Moreover,  officials  often  need  the 
encouragement  of  knowing  that  the  public  follows  their  work  with 
interest  and  can  make  good  use  of  its  results. 

To  secure  data  based  on  personal  observation  is  of  course  a  slower 
task,  but  an  important  one.  If  each  social  worker  kept  a  brief,  systematic 
record  of  every  violation  of  an  important  law  and  of  every  bad  condition 
not  met  by  legislation,  valuable  evidence  would  be  available  for  securing 
enforcement  and  enactment.  Such  a  record  would  also  suggest  which 
conditions  demand  more  thorough  investigation. 

Not  merely  to  those  actively  enlisted  in  social  work  as  a  profession, 
but  to  those  who  wish  to  know  their  own  communities  as  a  first  step  in 


6 


good  citizenship,  the  Outline  should  be  useful.  It  might  provide,  for 
instance,  the  course  of  study  for  a  volunteer  training  class.  Again, 
several  paid  workers  might  prepare  the  answers  jointly,  each  securing  the 
facts  about  his  special  problem.  Such  a  study  brings  out,  inevitably,  the 
close  connection  between  the  tasks  of  the  different  social  agencies,  showing 
the  points  at  which  their  interests  coincide,  and  the  way  in  which  they 
may  supplement  each  other’s  work.  This  appreciation  should  result  in  a 
more  careful  division  of  work,  in  a  greater  concentration  of  effort  and  a 
more  thorough  exchange  of  information. 

The  significant  facts  brought  out  should  be  presented  to  the  general 
public,  as  a  stimulus  to  enlightened  interest  in  civic  and  social  problems. 
In  Chicago,  the  Woman’s  Club  publishes  in  one  of  the  daily  papers  every 
two  or  three  da)rs  a  law,  either  one  which  the  citizen  violates  through 
ignorance,  or  one  for  his  protection  of  which  he  may  be  uninformed. 
Knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  public,  especially  that  portion  of  the  public 
which  has  definitely  undertaken  to  improve  conditions,  is  certainly  the 
basis  of  effective  social  action. 

I— THE  CITY 

As  a  setting  for  the  study  which  is  to  follow,  every  social  worker 
should  know  his  city  as  a  whole.  Its  origin  and  the  character  of  its  early 
settlers  affect  the  method  of  solving  its  present  problems.  Workers  in 
certain  Pennsylvania  towns,  for  instance,  still  have  to  reckon  with  the 
thrift  and  conservatism  of  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch  founders.  By  con¬ 
trast,  the  secretary  of  a  charity  organization  society  in  a  “boom”  town 
finds  that  his  chief  function  is  to  ensure  a  sanely  slow  development  of  its 
social  activities.  Even  in  New  York  City,  with  its  long  and  complex 
development,  light  was  thrown  on  the  specific  problems  of  a  given  district 
— upon  its  industries,  its  housing,  its  racial  mixtures — by  a  study  of  the 
successive  stages  of  development  through  which  farms  upon  the  left  bank 
of  the  Hudson  had  been  replaced  by  crowded  tenements. 

Therefore  social  workers,  especially  if  newcomers  in  a  town,  should 
know  about  the  early  inhabitants  and  about  the  industries  which  formed 
its  nucleus.  Local  history  and  biography  may  be  printed  and  available; 
or  the  oldest  inhabitant  may  throw  more  light  than  he  perhaps  realizes  on 
the  means  which  must  be  used  to  ensure  a  sound  social  development. 

Equally  essential  is  it  to  have  a  bird’s-eye  view  of  the  city  govern¬ 
ment,  to  know  specifically  its  form  of  organization  and  its  powers, 
especially  at  points  where  its  tasks  and  those  of  the  social  worker  intersect  ; 


7 


as  is  the  case  with  the  boards  of  health,  education  and  charities,  the  police, 
etc.  Expect  no  city  to  accomplish  tasks  for  which  it  has  neither  the  power 
nor  the  machinery;  organize  no  private  agencies  to  do  work  which  can 
and  should  be  done  by  city  departments. 

1.  Has  your  city  a  special  charter,  or  is  there  a  general  charter 
for  all  cities  of  its  class?  Is  this  published?  Have  you  a  copy? 

2.  How  large  is  the  city  council?  How  is  it  elected? 

3.  Are  there  city  boards  or  commissioners  in  charge  of  education; 
health;  parks;  police;  charities? 

4.  How  are  they  appointed  ?* 

5.  Do  they  have  full  power  to  appoint  subordinates?  Are  the  ap¬ 
pointments  usually  determined  by  politics? 

6.  What  powers  have  they  according  to  the  city  charter  or  orders 
of  the  city  council  ? 

7.  What  responsibility  rests  with  the  mayor?  How  long  does  he 
serve? 

8.  Do  the  departments  publish  separate  annual  reports,  even  if  in 
one  volume?  Secure  the  latest  copy. 

9.  What  positions  in  the  city  are  under  civil  service?  Has  the 
number  increased  in  the  last  five  years? 

10.  Get  from  the  city  engineer  an  outline  map  of  the  sewer  and  water 
mains. 

The  tax  rate  is  also  of  intimate  consequence,  since  many  municipal 
activities  strongly  urged  by  social  workers  must  go  by  default  if  the 
money  raised  by  taxation  is  not  adequate  or  is  wasted. 

11.  What  is  the  tax  rate? 

12.  On  what  per  cent,  of  the  market  value  of  real  property  are 
taxes  assessed  ? 

13.  Is  this  basis  of  valuation  seemingly  in  existence  because  of  custom 
or  tradition  ? 

14.  Total  amount  of  all  revenue  in  last  fiscal  year. 

15.  Total  expenditures;  expenditures  for  each  department. 

1 6.  Is  the  city  borrowing  money  to  pay  current  expenses? 

17.  What  is  the  borrowing  limit?  Has  it  been  reached? 

18.  How  is  the  city  budget  made  up? 

19.  Is  there  any  public  discussion  of  its  items? 

20.  Has  any  study  been  made  by  social  workers  or  public  accountants 
of  its  system  of  accounting?  What  was  the  outcome? 

II— COMMUNITY  PROBLEMS 

The  first  group  of  subjects  to  be  considered  includes  those  which 
affect  the  well-being  of  the  whole  community — housing,  health,  recrea¬ 
tion,  industrial  problems,  child  v/elfare,  the  courts.  Bad  conditions 
resulting  from  private  interest,  ignorance  and  indifference  must  be  com¬ 
bated  by  community  action  working  through  legislation,  through  educa¬ 
tion,  through  increased  efficiency  in  social  work.  The  co-operation  of  all 
social  agencies  is  needed  if  the  fight  is  to  be  won. 

*  If  the  city  has  a  commission  form  of  government,  questions  2,  3  and  4 
should  be  combined. 


8 


A.  HOUSING 


Housing  conditions,  for  example,  are  an  element  in  almost  all  social 
work;  they  affect  all  work  for  improving  the  health  of  the  community, 
and  all  work  with  families  in  their  homes;  and,  as  conditions  affecting 
the  health  and  moral  tone  of  family  life,  they  are  also  related  to  work  for 
children  in  connection  with  the  schools,  settlements,  juvenile  court,  etc. 
To  know  therefore  whether  bad  housing  conditions  exist  and  how  to 
keep  them  from  developing  is  a  part  of  the  social  worker’s  equipment. 

First,  facts  about  the  city’s  actual  housing  conditions  should  be 
secured,  not  necessarily  by  a  regular  investigation,  but  by  noting,  as  home 
visits  are  paid  for  whatever  purpose,  violations  of  city  ordinances  and 
unsanitary  conditions  not  yet  covered  by  ordinances.  Each  violation 
should  be  recorded  on  a  five-by-eight  card  re-enforced  where  possible  by  a 
photograph  showing  the  actual  condition.  Data  should  be  gathered  as  to 
the  number  of  dark  rooms  in  old  houses  and  new,  the  number  of  privy 
vaults,  the  overcrowding  of  rooms  (especially  by  lodgers),  number  of 
cellar  dwellings,  high  rents,  unsanitary  conditions,  etc.* 

The  every-day  records  of  social  agencies  often  contain  much  useful 
information.  In  the  annual  report  for  1909  of  the  Associated  Charities 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  an  analysis,  by  size  of  family  and  number  of  rooms, 
of  the  1037  families  cared  for  in  that  year  showed  that  142  were  living 
with  two  or  more  persons  to  the  room,  while  in  some  instances  there 
were  six,  seven,  eight,  and  even  nine  persons  per  room.  Such  facts, 
made  vivid  by  a  description  of  what  these  conditions  mean  to  individual 
families,  will  be  a  forceful  argument  for  a  city  ordinance  against  over¬ 
crowding. 

In  Louisville,  a  joint  committee  of  the  Associated  Charities  and  of 
the  Civics  Committee  of  the  Woman’s  Club  gathered  just  such  evidence 
as  this,  first  from  various  agencies  working  in  the  tenements,  and  later  by 
personal  visits.  With  this  as  a  basis,  they  were  ready  for  the  visit  of  an 
expert  to  diagnose  the  housing  situation,  and  later  secured  an  appropria¬ 
tion  from  the  city  council  for  a  full  investigation. 

It  is  necessary,  secondly,  to  learn  what  laws  and  ordinances  affecting 
the  maintenance  and  construction  of  houses  and  tenements'}"  already  exist, 
and  how  far  they  are  being  enforced.  These  may  be  part  of  a  state  law 
or  may  be  city  ordinances.  It  is  easier  to  get  city  ordinances  passed  than 


*  Sample  schedule  cards  may  be  obtained  on  request  from  the  National 
Housing  Association,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City, 
f  Note  the  legal  definition  of  a  tenement  house. 


9 


to  enact  a  state  law,  but  the  former  can  be  more  easily  amended  by  those 
opposed  to  good  laws  before  the  public  realizes  it. 

The  following  outline  suggests  the  main  points  concerning  which 
definite  information  should  be  had: 

1.  State  the  requirements  of  the  law  concerning  the  following: 

(a)  Percentage  of  lot  which  may  be  occupied  by  buildings. 

(b)  Size  of  yards,  courts;  distance  between  detached  houses. 

(c)  Light  and  ventilation  of  rooms,  public  halls. 

(d)  Size  of  rooms;  room  overcrowding. 

(e)  Use  of  cellars  or  basements  for  living  purposes. 

(f)  Drainage  of  yard,  courts,  cellar;  use  of  surface  wells. 

(g)  Provision  of  running  water.  Is  a  yard  hydrant  all  that 
is  required,  or  must  there  be  running  water  in  each  house?  In  the 
case  of  two-familv  houses  or  tenements,  must  there  be  running 
water  on  each  floor,  in  each  apartment? 

(h)  Sewer  connection  for  water-closets;  open  plumbing. 

(i)  New  privies  and  school  sinks  for  single-family  houses,  for 
tenements. 

(j)  Removal  of  old  privies  and  school  sinks.  How  many 
were  removed  last  year? 

(k)  Substitution  of  indoor  water-closets  for  privies  and  school 
sinks. 

(l)  Care  of  privies. 

(m)  Height  of  tenements;  construction  of  tenements  to  reduce 
fire  hazard. 

(n)  Installation  and  character  of  fire  escapes. 

(o)  Keeping  of  animals  on  the  premises. 

(p)  Responsibility  of  owner  for  cleanliness  and  sanitation. 

2.  Which  of  these  requirements  are  embodied  in  a  state  housing 
law;  the  city  charter;  city  ordinances?  Are  the  charter  and  ordinances 
more  stringent  than  the  state  law? 

The  housing  laws  will  be  ineffective  unless  supplemented  by  ordi¬ 
nances  providing  for  inspection  and  improvement.  With  our  foreign 
colonies,  ignorant  of  American  standards  and  legal  rights  and  not  know¬ 
ing  where  and  how  to  make  complaint,  it  is  not  enough  for  the  board  of 
health  to  act  on  complaint ;  it  should  make  regular  inspections. 

3.  What  city  department  or  departments  have  the  duty  of  enforc¬ 
ing  the  housing  ordinances? 

4.  How  many  inspectors  are  there  for  each  department;  for  ex¬ 
ample,  plumbing,  new  buildings,  etc.? 

5.  Do  they  inspect  on  their  own  initiative  and  at  stated  intervals, 
or  only  on  complaint? 

6.  Have  they  power  to  vacate  unfit  houses,  and  what  is  the  pro¬ 
cedure  in  brief? 

Also  learn  from  the  board  of  health  how  many  violations  were  re¬ 
ported  last  year  and  their  nature,  what  action  was  taken,  how  many 
cases  were  brought  to  court,  and  what  disposal  was  made  oif  them. 
Some  such  summary  should  appear  in  the  records  and  published  reports 
of  every  board. 

As  the  report  of  the  Baltimore  Federated  Charities  says,  in  speaking 
of  the  reappointment  of  its  Committee  on  Improved  Housing  after  the 

10 


completion  of  a  new  housing  code,  “It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  code 
will  enforce  itself  or  that  the  department  will  push  its  work  to  a  finish 
without  a  governing  pressure  of  public  opinion.”  Nor  may  we  blame 
health  officials  for  the  continuance  of  bad  conditions  when  the  citizens 
refuse  to  give  them  adequate  appropriations. 

“In  New  York  i-J  per  cent,  of  the  city’s  annual  expenditures  is  for 
health  work,  as  compared  with  5  per  cent,  for  fire  protection,  9  per  cent, 
for  the  police,  and  17  per  cent,  for  education.  And  New  York  leads  the 
country  in  its  health  expenditures  and  has  more  generous  treatment  in  this 
regard  than  any  other  city  in  America.  And  yet,  even  in  New  York  last 
year,  where  its  efficient  health  commissioner  certified  that  the  welfare  of 
the  city  required  the  expenditure  of  $4,076,578  for  health  work  during 
the  coming  year,  the  financial  authorities  granted  him  but  $2,823,499.”* 

An  admirable  discussion  of  this  whole  question  is  found  in  “Housing 
Reform, ”f  by  Lawrence  Veiller,  and  in  the  companion  “Model  Tene¬ 
ment  House  Law”  will  be  found  a  definite  standard  by  which  local 
laws  may  be  measured.  For  further  advice  and  suggestion  in  adapting 
this  to  your  local  situation,  write  the  National  Housing  Association,  105 
East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

B.  HEALTH 

Another  evil  which  directly  conduces  to  dependency  and  to  low 
standards  of  living  is  sickness;  a  cause  which  can  and  in  many  phases  must 
be  attacked  by  community  action. 

In  Pittsburgh  from  1895  to  1907  inclusive  there  were  on  an  average 
130  deaths  yearly  from  typhoid  fever  for  every  100,000  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.  This  high  rate,  more  than  twice  that  in  any  other  large  city,  was 
unquestionably  due  to  the  contaminated  city  water-supply.  After  a  long 
fight  a  municipal  filtration  plant  was  opened  in  the  spring  of  1908,  and 
whde  in  October,  1907,  there  were  593  cases  of  typhoid,  in' October, 
1908,  there  were  only  96.  A  careful  study  was  made,  in  the  Pittsburgh 


*  “Housing  and  Health,”  by  Lawrence  Veiller,  page  24.  Pamphlet  published 
by  the  National  Housing  Association,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

t  Lawrence  Veiller,  “Housing  Reform,”  and  “A  Model  Tenement  House  Law,” 
New  York,  Charities  Publication  Committee,  105  East  22d  Street;  see  also  “Hous¬ 
ing  and  Health,”  and  series  of  articles  on  “Housing  Awakening”  in  the  Survey. 
The  issue  for  September  2,  1911,  gives  the  subjects  and  dates  of  the  series.  (The 
Survey  is  published  by  Charities  Publication  Committee,  105  East  22d  Street,  New 
York  City.  Single  weekly  numbers,  10  cents;  monthly  magazine  numbers,  appear¬ 
ing  in  the  first  week  of  the  month,  25  cents.  Annual  subscription,  $2.) 


Survey,*  of  the  economic  loss  occasioned  in  338  cases  of  typhoid  fever. 
With  the  actual  cost  in  these  cases  as  a  basis,  Mr.  Wingf  estimated  that, 
including  loss  of  wages,  and  cost  of  hospital  and  home  care  of  the  sick, 
Pittsburgh  had  spent  $3,000,000  for  typhoid  fever  in  one  year,  while  the 
filtration  plant  cost  but  $5,450,000.  Here  then  is  a  case  where  suffering 
and  often  dependence  were  caused  by  community  indifference,  and  rem¬ 
edied,  after  a  long  struggle,  by  community  action. 

1.  What  are  the  powers  of  the  board  of  health? 

2.  Does  it  print  separately  for  its  own  use  or  that  of  citizens  state 
statistics  and  city  ordinances  bearing  on  public  health? 

An  elementary  test  of  the  health  of  a  community  is  its  death-rate. 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  death-rates  are  frequently  mis¬ 
leading.  Sometimes  the  records  of  the  board  of  health  are  not  complete ; 
and  sometimes  the  population  figures  on  which  the  ratios  are  based  are  not 
accurate,  especially  between  census  years,  when  the  population  estimate 
may  be  based  on  some  optimist’s  idea  of  the  way  the  town  has  grown. 
Many  factors  moreover  affect  the  death-rate — -sex,  age,  distribution  of 
population,  race,  climate,  diet,  occupation,  as  well  as  general  sanitary  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  town.  Colorado  cities  have  an  excessive  tuberculosis  death- 
rate  because  of  the  very  fact  that  the  climate  is  supposed  to  cure  the 
disease  and  that  many  patients  flock  there  only  to  die.  Caution  must  be 
exercised,  therefore,  in  drawing  any  conclusions  from  the  death-rate. 

Mortality  figures  are  important,  however,  especially  if  considered  in 
comparison  with  those  of  other  cities  of  about  the  same  size,  location  and 
industrial  character.  A  new  suburb  is  not  justified  in  being  satisfied  if 
its  infant  mortality  is  no  higher  than  that  of  New  York  City;  it  should  be 
far  lower.  Comparative  figures  can  be  secured  from  a  special  annual 
report  on  Mortality  Statistics  in  the  United  States  Census.  More  recent 
figures  should  be  given  in  the  records  of  the  local  board  of  health  or  of 
the  bureau  of  vital  statistics.  These  figures  may  sometimes  be  secured 
from  the  state  board  of  health,  if  the  local  board  does  not  publish  them. 
It  is  very  important,  however,  thcit  the  local  board  should  feel  that  it  is 
responsible  for  giving  to  the  public  a  statement  of  health  conditions  of 
the  city,  and  there  should  be  a  public  demand  that  they  do  so. 

*  The  Pittsburgh  Survey  was  an  investigation  of  social  and  industrial 
conditions  in  this  industrial  center  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Charities 
Publication  Committee.  While  the  investigations  were  on  too  comprehensive 
a  scale  for  small  communities  to  imitate,  the  reports  as  published  in  the  monthly 
magazine  numbers  of  Charities  and  the  Commons  (now  the  Survey)  for  January, 
February  and  March,  1909,  will  suggest  many  interesting  lines  of  inquiry  con¬ 
cerning  one’s  own  city.  Price,  25  cents  each. 

t  Frank  E.  Wing,  “Thirty-five  Years  of  Typhoid,”  Charities  and  the  Com¬ 
mons,  February  6,  1909.  Price,  25  cents. 


The  following  figures  should  be  secured : 

3.  Number  of  deaths  per  1000  of  population. 

4.  Number  of  deaths  of  children  under  one  and  under  five  per 
100,000  children  of  those  ages. 

5.  Number  of  deaths  per  100,000  population  from  tuberculosis, 
typhoid  and  intestinal  diseases  of  children. 

Include  the  number  of  cases  of  each  of  these  diseases  also,  if  these  are 
reported  with  any  accuracy.  If  certain  diseases  are  unusually  prevalent, 
effort  should  be  made  to  learn  the  causes  for  it;  for  this  knowledge  of 
what  constitutes  the  chief  physical  disability  of  any  city  is  merely  a  first 
step  toward  finding  means  for  removing  it.  The  most  elementary  way  of 
decreasing  sickness  is  by  preventing  the  spread  of  contagious  or  infectious 
diseases  through  city  ordinances  or  rules  of  the  board  of  health. 

6.  What  contagious  diseases  must  be  reported  to  the  board  of 
health?  What  action  do  they  take  in  such  cases? 

7.  Does  a  special  order  require  that  all  cases  of  tuberculosis  be 
reported;  that  houses  be  fumigated  after  the  removal  of  tuberculosis 
patients  ? 

8.  Is  there  an  anti-spitting  ordinance? 

9.  Does  the  board  of  health  examine  free  of  charge  water,  milk, 
sputum  of  tuberculosis  patients,  throat  cultures,  etc.? 

These  laws  are  frequently  ignored.  To  get  some  idea  of  their  enforce¬ 
ment,  compare  the  number  of  cases  of  tuberculosis  reported  with  the 
number  of  deaths  from  that  disease.  Tuberculosis  experts  state  that  on  a 
conservative  basis  the  ratio  should  be  at' least  three  to  one.  In  one  town 
there  were  more  deaths  than  cases!  If  possible,  learn  from  the  board  of 
health  in  how  many  instances  last  year,  when  death  resulted  from  tuber¬ 
culosis,  the  case  had  not  been  previously  reported.  The  co-operation  of  the 
local  medical  society  may  be  secured  in  the  campaign  for  enforcing  regis¬ 
tration.  For  information  as  to  how  the  tuberculosis  death-rate  might  be 
lowered  in  a  given  community,  consult  the  National  Association  for  the 
Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York 
City. 

T.  o  safeguard  the  health  of  babies  is  one  of  the  most  important 
activities  of  the  health  department. 

10.  Is  the  law  enforced  which  requires  doctors  and  midwives  to 
report  all  births? 

xi.  Are  midwives  licensed  to  practice? 

12.  Is  ophthalmia  neonatorum  reportable  as  an  infectious  disease? 

13.  How  many  cases  were  reported  last  year? 

14.  Is  the  local  health  officer  empowered  or  obliged  to  secure  hos¬ 
pital  or  dispensary  care  for  this  disease? 

This  disease  is  the  cause  of  most  infantile  blindness,  and  can  be  pre¬ 
vented  and  cured  if  immediate  and  adequate  treatment  be  given.  The 
Committee  on  the  Prevention  of  Blindness,  105  East  22d  Street,  New 


13 


^  ork  City,  will  be  glad  to  furnish  information  on  methods  of  preventing 
blindness.* 

Even  what  might  be  called  the  city’s  housekeeping  must  be  properly 
supervised,  since  pure  water  and  milk  and  a  really  clean  city  mean  a 
reduced  death  and  morbidity  rate  from  germ  diseases. 

x5-  What  is  the  source  of  the  water-supply;  is  it  owned  by  the 
municipality  or  by  a  private  company? 

1 6.  What  laws  regulate  the  milk-supply,  and  the  inspection  of  food 
and  markets?  What  is  the  administration  of  these  laws? 

17.  Who  removes  the  garbage,  rubbish  and  filth;  how  often;  on 
what  terms? 

18.  Are  the  streets  kept  clean;  is  dry  sweeping  allowed? 

Educational  campaigns  are  a  most  important  factor  in  decreasing 

disease.  T  he  co-operation  of  the  public  must  be  secured  to  enforce  the 
laws,  and  more  than  that,  individuals  must  be  educated  to  observe  the 
rules  of  hygiene.  Does  the  board  of  health  carry  on  campaigns  of  health 
education  ?  Are  other  organizations  doing  this  work  in  regard  to  tuber¬ 
culosis,  care  of  babies,  etc.  ?  Such  work  is  often  most  successfully  under¬ 
taken  by  a  charity  organization  society,  in  co-operation  with  the  board  of 
health  and  private  physicians.  Chicago  had  an  appalling  infant  death- 
rate.  In  August,  1908,  719  babies  under  two  died  of  diarrheal  diseases. 
The  United  Charities  realized  that  this  fact,  serious  as  it  was  in  itself, 
indicated  also  the  tragic  number  of  children  who  lived  but  who  started 
life  handicapped  by  the  results  of  such  diseases.  “You  cannot  make  an 
efficient  citizen  out  of  a  blighted  baby.”  With  this  slogan  and  with  the 
co-operation  of  the  board  of  health  and  many  social  agencies  they  carried 
out,  in  the  summer  of  1909,  a  comprehensive  campaign  to  decrease  sick¬ 
ness  among  babies  by  instructing  mothers,  providing  pure  milk,  etc.  At 
least  in  a  large  part  as  a  result  of  this  work,  the  infant  death-rate  in  1909 
was  eighteen  per  cent,  lower  than  the  average  of  the  ten  preceding  years. 

C.  RECREATION. 

With  the  loss  of  facilities  for  outdoor  fun  and  neighborly  festivity 
that  follows  the  growth  of  cities,  formal  provision  of  recreation  for  both 
adults  and  children  has  become  a  necessity. 

For  the  children  it  is  not  enough  to  provide  space  to  play;  the  play 
itself  must  be  so  supervised  that  it  will  develop  the  character  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  as  well  as  give  an  outlet  for  their  physical  exuberance.  Mr.  George 
E.  Johnson,  Superintendent  of  the  Pittsburgh  Playground  Association, 
tells  the  story  of  little  Tim  who  appeared  in  the  Juvenile  Court  for 

*  See  “Children  Who  Need  Not  Have  Been  Blind,”  and  other  literature 
published  by  the  committee. 


i+ 


stealing  apples.  “The  probation  officer  took  the  boy  aside  and  said,  ‘Now, 
Tim,  tell  me  honest  wlty  do  you  steal  these  apples?  Do  you  get  so  hungry 
for  them  you  just  can  t  help  it?’  The  boy  looked  a  little  surprised,  hung 
his  head  a  moment  and  then  said,  ‘Why,  I  don’t  care  much  about  eating 
’em,  but  it  is  such  fun  to  have  old  Smudge  chase  me.’  ”  Properly  directed 
play  would  have  provided  an  outlet  for  this  bojdsh  impulse  and  hav.e  saved 
him  from  the  court. 

Supervised  playgrounds  are  thus  desirable  even  in  towns  where  there 
is  still  open  space  for  play.  For  information  on  the  need  for  and  the 
methods  of  maintaining  playgrounds,  write  to  the  Playground  and 
Recreation  Association  of  America,  I  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

x.  How  many  supervised  playgrounds  are  there  in  the  city?  Are 
they  open  in  the  evening?  On  holidays?  All  the  year  round?  Are 
they  in  the  centers  of  population?  Under  whose  auspices  are  they  main¬ 
tained  ? 

2.  Parks;  area,  distance  from  congested  quarters.  Are  they  ade¬ 
quately  policed?  Are  there  band  concerts?  What  amusements  are 
offered?  Are  they  of  good  character?  Can  children  play  on  the  grass? 

3.  Estimated  number  of  children  who  use  the  parks;  the  play¬ 
grounds. 

4.  What  use  is  made  of  streets  as  play  spaces  for  ball-playing, 
coasting,  roller-skating?  Do  the  police  permit  or  encourage  this  use? 

5.  What  is  the  character  of  the  excursion  steamboats?  Are  the 
decks  properly  lighted  ?  Is  liquor  sold  ?  Are  staterooms  rented  for  short 
periods  of  time? 

6.  Is  there  unimproved  land  in  the  city  which  should  be  acquired 
for  recreational  purposes,  either  for  children  not  now  provided  for,  or 
in  view  of  the  probable  growth  of  the  city  in  certain  directions? 

The  dangers  attending  recreation  on  a  commercial  basis  are  more 
obvious  in  certain  of  the  indoor  amusements,  such  as  cheap  theatres,  mov¬ 
ing  picture  shows,  dance-halls,  roller-skating  rinks.  Appealing  as  they  do 
to  the  normal  desire  of  young  people  for  a  good  time,  they  are  nevertheless 
often  offered  under  circumstances  which  endanger  the  morals  of  our  boys 
and  girls.  Even  when  not  directly  conducive  to  immorality  cheap  shows 
have  a  demoralizing  influence  because  of  the  low  standards  of  language, 
of  manners,  and  of  conduct  which  they  make  attractive.  A  careful  study 
of  conditions  in  them  is  therefore  desirable.* 

7.  What  forms  of  entertainment  are  offered?  Where  are  they 
located?  What  is  the  price  of  admission? 

8.  Have  you  attended  any  of  the  moving  picture  shows?  Are 
any  of  the  pictures  shown  likely  to  have  a  bad  effect  on  children  or  young 
people?  Are  the  halls  properly  lighted?  Are  children  under  sixteen, 
unaccompanied  by  parents,  excluded  in  the  evening? 

9.  How  many  dance-halls  are  there?  Below  what  age  are  girls 
excluded?  Are  they  connected  with  saloons  or  is  liquor  sold  to  minors? 

Is  there  proper  provision  of  separate  toilets? 

*  See  Reports  of  Committee  on  Amusement  Resources  of  Working  Girls, 

1 19  East  19th  Street,  New  York  City. 


15 


Those  who  recognize  the  dangers  in  commercialized  recreation  are 
making  efforts  to  regulate  it  by  law.  An  instance  is  the  censorship  of 
moving  pictures  by  which,  through  the  co-operation  of  the  manufacturers, 
all  films  are  passed  upon  by  a  national  board  of  censors  before  they  are 
exhibited. 

These  evils  are  further  offset  by  the  provision  of  non-commercial 
recreation.  Perhaps  the  most  hopeful  plan  is  to  conduct  recreation  centers 
in  the  public  schools,  thus  utilizing  these  valuable  plants  in  the  evening  as 
well  as  during  school  hours.  This  saves  the  cost  of  new  and  expensive 
buildings  and  also  removes  any  feeling  on  the  part  of  those  who  use  them 
that  the  undertaking  is  philanthropic. 

An  evening  exhibition  by  the  pupils  in  one  of  the  centres  on  the 
lower  East  Side  in  New  York  City  was  most  illuminating.  The  folk 
dances,  music  by  the  band,  the  one-act  play,  and  the  reproduction  of  a 
meeting  of  the  New  York  City  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
seemed  to  be  equally  enjoyed  by  the  young  people  who  participated  and 
by  the  parents  and  friends  who  packed  the  assembly  room  to  overflowing. 

In  many  smaller  communities  that  do  not  need  “settlements”  and 
cannot  afford  big  boys’  club  buildings,  this  simple  method  can  be  adopted 
to  provide  recreation  and  instruction.  For  information  as  to  the  best 
methods  of  developing  this  plan,  write  to  the  Department  of  Child 
Hygiene  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  I  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City.* 

Such  work  is  already  being  done  in  many  cities  by  boys’  clubs  or 
Young  Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations.  In  some 
cities  where  both  these  agencies  exist  the  poorer  boys  tend  to  join  the 
boys’  club,  while  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  attracts  those 
who  can  afford  to  pay  its  membership  fee.  The  feeling  of  caste  that  goes 
deeper  than  we  are  sometimes  ready  to  admit  makes  it  almost  impossible 
to  combine  the  two  groups.  If,  therefore,  there  is  a  well-equipped  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association,  though  it  does  splendid  work,  do  not  forget 
that  some  other  recreation  should  be  offered  to  the  unskilled  worker. 

The  Boys’  Club  of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  offers  in  a  finely 
equipped  building  many  kinds  of  educational  and  industrial  work,  com¬ 
mercial,  manual,  musical  and  physical.  Many  of  the  classes  are  taught 
by  boys  who  have  graduated  from  the  club  and  have  since  received  special 
training. 

*  See  “Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant,”  Clarence  Arthur  Perry,  Charities 
Publication  Committee,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City.  One  chapter,  “Public 
Lectures  in  School  Buildings,”  is  published  in  pamphlet  form  by  the  Department 
of  Child  Hygiene  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation.  Price,  5  cents. 

16 


The  programs  of  the  Young  Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian 
Associations  show  a  steadily  increasing  emphasis  on  the  social  aspects  of 
their  tasks.  Secretaries  are  being  specifically  trained  for  work  among 
immigrants,  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations  are  being  opened  up 
in  remote  industrial  centers  where  many  girls  are  employed;  all  the 
secretaries  are  being  urged  to  co-operate  more  fully  in  the  general  social 
activities  of  their  towns.  If  opportunities  for  such  social-religious  work 
appear,  write  to  the  International  Committee  of  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Associations,  124  East  28th  Street,  New  York  City,  and  to  the  National 
Committee  of  the  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations,  125  East  27th 
Street,  New  York  City. 

10.  Boys’  and  girls’  clubs.* 

(a)  Number,  membership,  average  attendance. 

(b)  Under  what  auspices  are  they  conducted? 

(c)  Is  the  club  work  adequately  supervised? 

(d)  What  is  the  character  of  the  education  or  amusement 
offered  ? 

11.  Young  Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations. 

(a)  Number  of  educational  classes,  subjects,  attendance. 

(b)  Is  there  a  gymnasium? 

(c)  What  other  amusements? 

(d)  What  is  the  membership  fee?  Class  fees,  if  any? 

(e)  Are  the  classes  limited  to  members? 

(f)  What  groups  of  young  men  most  frequently  join?  Is  mem¬ 
bership  restricted?  How? 

D.  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEMS 

More  basic  than  these  factors  of  health,  housing  or  recreation  are  the 
Conditions  under  which  men  work.  Does  their  work  lessen  vitality  and 
so  induce  disease?  Are  the  hours  so  long  that  there  is  no  leisure  for 
pleasure  or  home  life?  Are  wages  too  low  to  provide  food  enough,  a 
decent  tenement,  a  margin  for  recreation,  all  the  elements  that  we  recog¬ 
nize  as  needful  to  maintain  a  normal  standard  of  living? 

The  conditions  which  industries  create  intimately  concern  the  well¬ 
being  of  almost  every  family,  but  over  them  the  public  has  comparatively 
little  control.  Social  workers  frequently  have  little  or  no  specific  infor¬ 
mation  as  to  wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  work;  yet  a  prominent 
charity  organization  worker  said  recently  that  one  of  the  most  important 
tasks  of  his  society  should  be  to  secure  data  about  each  industry,  and  to 
make  them  available  for  other  social  workers.  There  are  two  reasons  for 
undertaking  this  study: 

( 1 )  It  creates  a  background  for  the  study  of  individual  dependent 

*  See  page  32  for  a  discussion  of  the  work  of  social  settlements. 


17 


families.  What  standards  of  living  does  the  pay  of  the  average  wage- 
earner  make  possible;  do  wages  and  conditions  in  the  industry  directly 
or  indirectly  increase  dependency  ?  In  one  district  in  Boston  many  of  the 
men  are  longshoremen,  whose  work  is  highly  paid  but  irregular,  days  of 
absolute  idleness  alternating  with  periods  of  intense  physical  labor.  As  a 
result  of  these  conditions  many  of  the  men  are  intemperate,  and  the 
women  find  it  hard  to  plan  household  expenditures  on  this  uncertain 
income.  I  he  union,  though  it  pays  no  out-of-work  benefit,  gives  liberal 
benefits  to  men  who  are  ill  or  injured,  both  frequent  occurrences  because 
of  work  conditions.  Knowdedge  of  these  facts  is  absolutely  essential  for 
intelligent  treatment  of  the  families  applying  for  relief. 

(2)  It  furnishes  a  basis  for  intelligent  advice  to  children  and 
young  people  who  seek  employment.  How  can  such  advice  be  of  value 
unless  we  know  which  occupations  offer  training  or  a  possibility  of  ad¬ 
vancement;  in  which  the  employment  is  regular;  and  which  are  health¬ 
ful?  Facts  are  needed  wherewith  to  combat  the  tendency  of  boys  and 
girls  to  drift  into  dead-end  occupations,  into  candy  factories,  the  messen¬ 
ger  service,  etc. 

The  Associated  Charities  of  Boston  in  1906  made  a  special  study  of 
the  children  fourteen  to  eighteen  years  old  in  families  under  its  care.  Of 
the  700  children  fourteen  years  old,  only  64  had  started  work  at  skilled 
or  semi-skilled  occupations.  One  district  reported  that  a  group  of  ten 
girls  of  eighteen  had,  in  the  four  years,  had  their  average  wage  increased 
from  $2.25  to  $4.30,  but  that  only  one  had  advanced  to  a  task  involving 
a  greater  degree  of  skill.  Too  often  an  immediate  wage  of  three  dollars 
a  week  outweighs  the  fact  that  the  wage  will  never  be  larger,  and  that  the 
occupation  offers  no  training. 

For  each  of  the  main  industries,  therefore,  it  is  well  to  secure  such 
facts  as  these : 

1.  Estimated  number  of  men,  women,  children  employed. 

2.  Estimate  so  far  as  possible  the  proportion  of  skilled  workers  in 

each  occupation.*  , 

(a)  In  factory  work,  are  the  establishments  large,  with  ex¬ 
treme  subdivision  of  the  work;  or  are  they  so  small  that  each 
worker  is  familiar  with  the  whole  process? 

(b)  What  method  of  training  or  apprenticeship  is  there?  How 
long  a  period  does  it  cover? 

(c)  What  is  the  maximum  wage,  and  the  minimum,  in  each 
occupation?  What  proportion  of  the  workers  reach  this  maximum? 


*  It  is  of  course  impossible  to  draw'  a  hard  and  fast  line  between  skilled 
and  unskilled  occupations.  The  sub-headings  indicate  some  tests  which  show 
the  degree  of  skill  involved  in  different  industries. 

18 


3.  Is  the  labor  casual  or  seasonal?  In  which  months  is  the  work 
steady?  In  which  dull? 

4.  Are  there  trade  unions;  if  so,  what  benefits  do  they  give  to 
the  sick  or  unemployed?  Approximate  proportion  of  employes  who 

belong.  . 

5.  Are  there  other  pension  systems  connected  with  any  establish¬ 
ments  in  the  industry? 

6.  Are  conditions  of  work  sanitary  and  healthful  ?  Are  there 
special  dangers  such  as  unguarded  machinery,  dust  or  dampness?  Do 
workers,  especially  women,  have  to  work  in  a  trying  posture? 

7.  How  many  state  factory  inspectors  are  there;  what  are  their 
powers  ? 

Some  of  these  facts  can  be  secured  from  employers ;  some  from  the 
board  of  trade  or  chamber  of  commerce.  State  departments  of  labor 
wherever  they  exist  should  be  consulted  for  such  data  as  they  are  per¬ 
mitted  to  make  public.  The  figures  from  these  sources,  however,  must 
be  checked  up  and  supplemented  by  data  secured  from  individual  workers. 

There  is  comparatively  little  legislation  on  general  industrial  ques¬ 
tions.  A  number  of  states  have  recently  passed  laws  determining  the 
employer’s  liability  in  cases  of  accident,  the  terms  of  which  social  workers 
should  know  because  of  their  direct  bearing  on  individual  accident  cases. 
Some  other  bills  of  national  import,  now  before  Congress,  social  agencies 
may  further  by  bringing  pressure  to  bear  on  their  Congressional  represen¬ 
tatives.  For  information  on  this  and  kindred  subjects,  write  to  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  1  Madison  Avenue,  New  A  ork 
City. 

The  hours  and  conditions  of  women’s  work  have  been  the  subject 
of  special  legislation.  The  Lnited  States  Supreme  Court  has  recently 
rendered  a  decision  that  the  Oregon  law  limiting  the  hours  of  work  for 
women  in  laundries  is  constitutional.  This  authoritative  sanction  of  the 
argument  that,  for  the  good  of  the  community,  women  as  well  as  children 
must  be  protected  from  industrial  exploitation,  will  doubtless  encourage 
similar  legislation  in  other  states. 

8.  What  industries  employ  women  ? 

9.  For  the  main  industries,  classify  women  employed  by  age  and 
nationality.  What  proportion  do  employed  women  form  of  total  number 
of  women  of  corresponding  age  in  the  population? 

10.  Consider  the  facts  in  Question  2  especially  for  women. 

11.  Give  the  state  law  governing 

(a)  The  number  of  hours  a  week  women  may  be  employed  in 
factories;  in  stores. 

(b)  The  hours  that  women  may  work  at  night. 

(c)  Industries  in  which  women  may  not  be  employed. 

12.  What  industries  give  out  work  to  be  done  in  the  home?  What 
are  the  usual  weekly  earnings  in  each  such  occupation;  under  what  con¬ 
ditions  is  the  work  done? 

13.  What  proportion  of  women  wage-earners  board?  What  does 
a  working  girl  have  to  pay  for  board? 


T9 


It  is  easier  to  realize  the  problems  which  result  when  women  enter 
industrial  pursuits  in  towns  where  large  numbers  of  women  are  em¬ 
ployed.  If  they  get  high  pay,  the  families  come  to  depend  on  the  double 
earnings;  while  children  are  often  neglected  and  women  become  ex¬ 
hausted  by  the  double  responsibilities  of  work  and  home.  In  other  towns, 
hundreds  of  girls  gather  from  the  surrounding  country,  to  live  under 
abnormal  conditions  with  total  lack  of  wholesome  amusement.  In  one 
such  town  visited  recently,  the  only  agency  interested  in  the  problem  was 
found  to  be  providing  cheap  lodging  for  twenty  girls.  There  were  hun¬ 
dreds  with  no  home  life  and  no  entertainment. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  working  girls  often  feel  that  since 
wages  are  so  low  they  should  start  boarding  houses  where  girls  can  live 
at  less  than  commercial  rates.  There  is  necessity  for  caution,  however, 
in  planning  such  homes,  lest  by  subsidizing  wages  they  should  lower  the 
already  low  rate  of  wages  for  working  girls.  Recognizing  the  need  for 
fundamental  reform,  the  Legislature  in  Massachusetts  last  year  appointed 
a  commission  to  study  the  plan  of  minimum  wage  boards  which  should 
compel  employers  to  pay  a  living  wage.*  In  the  meantime  employment 
agencies  might  profitably  be  started  in  those  communities  where  industries 
are  diversified  and  seasonal,  to  help  find  work  for  girls  who  are  tem¬ 
porarily  out  of  employment  in  an  occupation  with  a  different  busy  season. 
Incidentally,  such  an  employment  bureau  could  gradually  accumulate  data 
about  wages  and  conditions  of  work  and  could  have  some  influence  in 
persuading  employers  to  adopt  better  standards. 

Moreover,  actual  conditions  must  be  the  basis  for  determining  what 
private  agencies  should  be  started,  whether  a  local  consumers’  league, 
working  girls’  club,  etc.  For  these  activities  must  strike  at  the  root  of 
the  problem.  In  one  city  in  a  fruit-growing  region,  a  day  nursery  was 
established  near  a  canning  factory  to  care  for  the  children  of  women 
employed. f  The  women  worked  sometimes  fifteen  hours  a  day  during 
the  rush  season,  but  no  one  had  considered  the  need  of  legislation  limiting 
the  hours  that  a  woman  might  work.  In  their  desire  to  develop  a 
spirit  of  independence,  charitable  societies  should  not  encourage  women 
to  work  at  home  at  “sweated  trades,”  or  to  do  exhausting  work  outside 
the  home,  to  the  detriment  of  their  health  and  the  well-being  of  the 
children.  The  need  for  recreation  is  referred  to  on  page  14.  For  other 
information  and  advice,  consult  the  National  Consumers’  League,  106 
East  19th  Street,  New  York  City;  and,  for  information  about  clubs,  the 

*  See  Survey,  February  3,  1912,  for  notice  of  its  report. 

f  See  special  volume  of  the  1900  Census,  Statistics  of  Women  at  Work. 


20 


National  League  of  Women  Workers,  Miss  Jean  Hamilton,  Secretary, 
Oswego,  N.  Y. 

E.  THE  IMMIGRANT 

The  type  of  worker  which  the  dominant  industry  calls  to  the  town 
has  a  marked  effect  on  its  social  development.  A  striking  instance  of 
this  is  the  influx  of  Slavs,  with  their  low  standards  of  living,  to  do  the 
unskilled  work  in  the  steel  mills  and  coal  mines  of  Pennsylvania.  Even 
in  small  manufacturing  towns,  a  proportionately  large  group  of  foreign¬ 
ers  often  gather  before  anyone  in  the  town  realizes  their  number  or  the 
problems  they  create.  Hence  the  need  to  make  a  racial  analysis  of  the 
population  as  given  by  the  United  States  Census: 

1.  Number  of  each  nationality. 

2.  Length  of  residence. 

3.  Literacy. 

These  figures,  if  secured  for  several  decades,  will  show  whether  the 
number  of  immigrants  in  the  town  is  increasing,  and  whether,  therefore, 
work  for  them  must  be  included  in  plans  for  future  activities. 

Even  when  charitable  agencies  do  not  yet  have  foreigners  among 
their  beneficiaries,  work  should  be  begun  to  prevent  the  development  of 
bad  conditions.  For  example,  in  Homestead,  one  of  the  Pittsburgh  steel 
towns,  where  other  than  neighborly  charity  is  not  needed,  a  study  of  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  homes  of  the  Slavic  laborers  showed  appalling  sanitary  con¬ 
ditions.*  Legislative  action  alone  could  make  these  peasants  realize  that 
different  standards  from  those  of  village  life  are  necessary  in  overcrowded 
alleys  in  the  shadow  of  the  mill.  School  attendance  laws  must  also  be 
enforced,  that  the  foreigners  may  appreciate  our  American  insistence  on 
education  for  all. 

To  get  some  background  for  an  understanding  of  the  racial  types 
with  which  you  have  to  deal,  read  such  a  book  as  The  Immigrant 
Tide,”  by  Edward  A.  Steiner, f  which,  with  its  glimpses  of  life  in  the  old 
home  and  of  the  racial  ideals,  will  create  a  new  sympathy  for  these  aliens. 

It  also  helps  to  get  into  touch,  where  possible,  with  the  more  intellb 
gent  members  of  each  race — with  the  doctors,  lawyers,  shopkeepers,  land¬ 
lords,  etc.,  who  know  the  needs  of  their  people  and  how  they  can  be  met. 
In  one  city  where  many  Poles  live,  the  charity  organization  society  has  a 
district  committee  which  includes  educated  and  intelligent  members  of 

*  See  “Homestead,  the  Households  of  a  Mill  Town,”  Margaret  F.  Byington, 
Charities  Publication  Committee,  105  East  22d.  Street,  New  York  City.  _ 

t  Edward  A.  Steiner,  “The  Immigrant  Tide:  Its  Ebb  and  Flow,”  Fleming 
H.  Revell  Company.  See  also  articles  on  Pittsburgh  conditions,  magazine  Survey 
numbers  of  January,  February  and  March,  1909.  Price,  25  cents  each. 


21 


the  Polish  community.  The  society  has  thus  been  able  to  relate  the 
\aiious  social  activities  of  the  city  to  the  needs  of  these  people,  and  to 
bridge  the  gap  which  so  often  exists  between  us  and  this  isolated,  non- 
English-speaking  group.  For  even  in  smaller  cities  the  foreigners  often 
live  in  complete  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  town  and  have  no  part  in 
those  common  social  activities,  the  school,  the  church,  the  political  party, 
which  we  assume  will  bring  about  their  amalgamation.  Consider  with 
cate,  therefoie,  the  extent  to  which  these  forces  are  effecting  their  Ameri¬ 
canization. 

4.  Do  the  immigrants  live  in  a  separate  section  of  the  town? 

5.  How  does  this  compare  in  type  of  house  and  in  sanitation  with 
the  homes  of  the  other  working  people? 

6.  Is  there  a  separate  church  for  each  nationality? 

7.  Are  there  parochial  schools  connected  with  the  churches?  Is  a 
foreign  language  used  in  them? 

8.  What  part  do  they  take  in  town  politics?  Are  they  organized 
in  groups  under  leaders  of  their  own  race  who  dictate  their  political 
action  ? 

9-  In  what  industries  are  they  employed?  Do  they  belong  to  the 
same  trade  union  locals  as  the  English-speaking  workers  ? 


F.  CHILDREN 
I.  CHILD  LABOR 

Questions  concerning  the  welfare  of  children  are  so  interwoven  that 
no  agency  dealing  with  the  child  at  home,  at  school,  at  play,  at  work, 
as  dependent  or  delinquent,  can  afford  to  be  ignorant  of  any  of  the  condi¬ 
tions  affecting  child  life.  The  universal  recognition  of  the  rights  of 
childhood  has  found  expression  in  special  legislation  and  many  social 
activities.  Probably  the  most  vital  legislation  is  that  restricting  child 
labor,*  which  determines  the  age  below  which  no  child  may  work,  and 
restricts  the  work  of  children  till  they  are  sixteen.  The  second  point  is  of 
great  importance.  In  Pennsylvania,  for  example,  while  a  child  may  not 
go  to  work  at  all  till  he  is  fourteen,  boys  of  fourteen  and  fifteen  still  work 
all  night  in  glass  factories  at  occupations  seriously  detrimental  to  health. 
Messenger  boys  also  work  at  night  under  demoralizing  conditions,  and 
recently  several  states,  led  by  New  York  and  Ohio,  have  passed  laws  for¬ 
bidding  the  employment  of  boys  under  either  twenty-one  or  eighteen  as 
night  messengers. 

1.  Below  what  age  are  children  forbidden  to  work  in  factories, 
mercantile  establishments,  messenger  service,  etc.?  Does  this  prohibition 
apply  after  school  hours,  on  Saturdays  and  during  vacations? 

*  “The  Child  in  Industry,”  by  Owen  R.  Lovejoy,  and  other  literature  on 
the  subject  may  be  secured  from  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  105 
East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 


22 


.  a#  .Yhat.arf  the.Iaws  regulating  the  hours  of  labor  for  children 
under  sixteen  m  factories  and  stores  ? 

bidden  ? In  What  °CCupations  *s  the  Iabor  of  children  under  sixteen  for- 

_4-  What  restriction  is  there  of  the  work  of  children  from  fourteen 
to  sixteen  as  to  hours  per  day  and  as  to  night  work  ? 

5-  What  are  the  laws  regulating  the  sale  of  newspapers  and  the 
night  messenger  service? 


1  he  value  of  these  laws  is  obviously  dependent  on  their  enforcement. 
Mr.  Fred  S.  Hall,  formerly  of  the  Pennsylvania  Child  Labor  Associa¬ 
tion,  quotes  figures  showing  that,  in  1900,  in  Pennsylvania  “7064,  or 
nearly  six  per  cent,  of  all  twelve-year-old  children,  were  illegally  at  work 
in  factories,  stores,  offices,  mines  or  breakers.”  In  a  number  of  states 
before  an  employment  certificate  is  issued,  a  child  is  now  required  to 
furnish  documentary  proof  of  his  age  instead  of  relying,  as  formerly  on 
the  affidavit  of  his  parents.  In  New  York  City,  only  two  per  cent,  of 

22,423  applicants  in  a  recent  year  were  unable  to  bring  satisfactory  evi¬ 
dence  of  age. 


ing 


6. 

7- 

8. 

9- 

p 


Are  employment  certificates  required  in  your  state? 

What  authority  issues  them? 

What  proof  of  age  is  demanded? 

Number  of  certificates  issued  last  year.  Is  this  number  increas- 


10. 
made. 

11. 

city  last 

12. 


Number  of  cases  last 
Reasons. 


year  in  which  exceptions  to  the  rules  were 


Number  of  prosecutions  for  violation  of  child  labor  law 
year;  number  of  convictions.* 

Are  records  kept  and  reports  made  to  state  departments? 


in  your 


These  regulations,  which  should  be  secured  in  legal  form  since 
details  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  can  be  had  from  the  state  factory 
inspector,  or,  if  there  is  none,  from  the  state  superintendent  of  schools. 
Data  concerning  violations  of  the  state  laws  are  more  difficult  to  obtain. 
Deputy  inspectors  sometimes  fail  to  report,  and  often  the  reports  do  not 
show  the  number  of  violations  in  a  given  locality.  The  factory  inspector 
should  be  able  to  provide  them,  but  if  he  cannot  they  can  be  learned  only 
by  keeping  newspaper  clippings,  by  searching  court  records,  and  by 
record  mg  any  known  violations  of  the  law.  Someone  in  each  community 
should  be  responsible  for  knowing  to  what  extent  these  laws  are  bein* 
enforced.  Each  worker  should  also  know  where  his  state  stands  in 
ie  ation  to  others  in  its  progress  in  child  labor  legislation.  To  secure 
these  facts,  if  there  is  no  state  child  labor  committee,  write  to  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 


*  If  the  factory  inspector’s  district 
take  the  figures  for  his  district. 


does  not  coincide  with  the  city’s 


area, 


23 


When  a  child  labor  bill  is  before  the  Legislature  it  is  important  to 
prevent  the  incorporation  of  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  The  attempt 
is  often  made  to  lower  standards  by  making  poverty  a  reason  for  letting 
young  children  go  to  work.*  Charitable  societies  may  help  by  seeing 
that  no  children  in  their  families  are  at  work  illegally,  and  by  standing 
ready  to  provide  relief  when,  in  exceptional  cases,  real  hardship  would 
otherwise  be  caused  by  strict  enforcement. 

A  district  of  the  Baltimore  Federated  Charities  appointed  in  1906  a 
special  child  labor  committee  to  deal  with  such  cases.  In  the  case  of  an 
Italian  family  which  had  a  tendency  to  beg  they  secured  the  co-operation 
of  the  Italian  societies  in  keeping  the  children  in  school.  In  six  cases 
they  gave  special  scholarships  to  keep  children  in  school.  The  following 
story  is  typical  of  their  work:  “Marie  offered  a  South  Baltimore  con¬ 
ductor  a  three-cent  fare  on  her  way  to  the  factory  one  morning.  The 
conductor  refused  the  fare  because,  he  said,  ‘You  can’t  work  in  a  factory 
if  you  are  under  twelve,  and  you  can’t  ride  for  three  cents  if  you  are  over 
twelve.’  The  fact  was  disclosed  to  an  agent  of  the  Federated  Charities 
that  her  mother,  who  needed  the  child’s  earnings,  had  falsified  the  age  so 
as  to  get  a  work  permit.  Marie  was  got  back  to  school,  and  the  scholar¬ 
ship  contributed  by  the  pupils  of  one  of  our  large  private  schools  made 
good  to  the  family  the  loss  of  her  earnings.  She  is  a  frail  child,  and  was 
therefore  sent  when  school  closed  to  the  country  to  be  with  relatives. 
She  will  continue  at  school  this  winter.” 

2.  SCHOOLS 

This  story  brings  out  the  close  relation  between  child  labor  and 
school  attendance  laws.  To  find  out  during  what  years  school  attendance 
is  compulsory  and  where  a  given  state  stands  in  comparison  with  others, 
get  from  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  the  latest 
report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  which  gives  a 
summary  of  child  labor  and  compulsory  education  laws  for  all  the  states. 

But  are  the  children  actually  as  well  as  nominally  in  school  during 
these  years?  Important  as  is  the  answer  to  this  question  it  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  find.  The  board  of  education  should  take  a  school  census. 
If  one  is  taken,  summarize  its  findings  to  show  the  total  number  of  chil¬ 
dren  of  each  age,  the  number  in  public  schools,  the  number  in  private 
or  parochial  schools,  and  the  number  not  in  school  at  all.  Get  these 
figures  separately  for  the  children  of  each  age  during  the  compulsory 

*  See  pamphlet,  “Poverty  and  Child  Labor,”  published  by  the  National  Child 
Labor  Committee. 


24 


school  period.  Dr.  Ayres’  figures  on  school  attendance  indicate  that  in 
most  cities  children  are  steadily  losing  real  education  because  of  irregular 
attendance.  He  found*  that  of  every  1000  children  enrolled  the  average 
daily  attendance  in  Baltimore  was  only  662,  in  Philadelphia  695,  in  New 
York  751,  in  Chicago  823.  In  the  town  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  school 
“keeps”  for  184  days,  yet  of  6537  pupils,  892  or  nearly  fourteen  per  cent, 
were  in  school  less  than  100  days  out  of  the  year  (page  208).  This 
condition  is  of  course  due  in  part  to  an  indifferent  school  board  or  an 
inefficient  truancy  department.  Absences  even  of  a  day  or  two  should  be 
at  once  investigated.  Such  thorough  work  is,  however,  impossible  if  the 
truant  officer  has  too  many  cases.  Dr.  Ayres  quotes  the  city  superin¬ 
tendent  of  schools  in  Milwaukee  as  reporting,  in  1907,  that  there  were 
nearly  50,000  children  in  the  city  between  seven  and  fourteen.  There 
were  three  attendance  officers  to  watch  them  all.  It  was,  therefore,  not 
surprising  that  four  or  five  thousand  of  the  children  were  not  in  school. 

13.  How  many  truant  officers  are  there? 

14.  Do  these  officers  receive  daily  reports  from  each  school? 

15.  Does  the  central  office  of  the  school  department  maintain  a  card 
index  of  all  children  who  have  been  enrolled  in  all  schools,  public  and 
private  (parochial),  in  order  to  trace  unexplained  non-appearances  of 
children  at  the  beginning  of  each  school  year? 

16.  How  many  cases  were  investigated  last  year? 

17.  How  many  cases  were  taken  to  court? 

18.  How  many  boys  were  sent  to  the  truant  school? 

19.  What  other  disposition  was  made  of  confirmed  truants? 

20.  How  many  parents  were  prosecuted  and  how  many  fined  or  put 
in  jail  last  year? 

21.  Does  the  officer  visit  the  parochial  schools,  and  has  he  power  to 
take  their  cases  into  court? 

Unquestionably  the  slow  progress  of  many  pupils  is  the  result  of 
failure  to  keep  them  in  school  regularly.  In  a  family  recently  applying 
for  relief  to  one  of  the  New  York  Charity  Organization  Society  offices, 
a  boy  of  twelve,  apparently  normal,  had  reached  only  the  second  grade ! 
To  learn  what  amount  of  education  the  children  really  get,  find  out  in 
what  grades  the  children  of  thirteen  are  and  compare  this  with  the  grade 
in  which  a  child  of  thirteen  would  be  who  had  entered  at  the  average  age 
and  been  promoted  every  year.  This  figure  can  usually  be  secured  and 
gives  a  fair  basis  for  judging  whether  the  pupils  are  making  normal 
progress. 

Some  of  these  facts  are  given  in  published  reports  of  local  school 
boards  and  of  the  state  board  of  education.  Otherwise,  information  must 

*  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  “Laggards  in  Our  Schools,”  page  133.  New  York, 
Charities  Publication  Committee. 


25 


be  secured  from  superintendents  of  schools,  school  principals,  truant 
officers,  and  teachers. 

Schools  used  to  devote  themselves  to  teaching  the  three  R’s.  More 
and  more  are  they  emphasizing  the  idea  that  their  function  is  to  develop 
an  all-round  child,  to  care  for  the  child  physically  as  well  as  mentally. 
This  broadening  of  our  school  system  should  be  stimulated  by  all  social 
workers,  on  whom  devolves  the  task  of  interpreting  to  the  school  board 
and  the  taxpayers  the  educational  needs  of  that  part  of  the  community 
which  is  least  able  to  make  its  wants  known.  For  the  development  of 
this  work  depends  on  a  spirit  of  progress  in  the  board  itself,  and  on  a 
public  opinion  educated  to  demand  an  increased  use  of  the  schools  even 

if  it  involves  additional  expenditure  of  city  funds. 

22.  Are  text-books  free? 

23.  How  many  free  kindergartens  in  the  public  schools?  How  many 
under  private  auspices? 

24.  Are  there  classes  for  backward  children? 

25.  Are  there  manual  training  and  domestic  science?  If  so,  what 
subjects  in  what  grades? 

26.  Is  there  medical  inspection  ?  How  often  are  physical  exam¬ 
inations  made?  What  points  are  covered  in  the  examination?  How 
often  are  hearing  and  vision  tests  made?  Number  of  school  nurses. 

27.  Are  there  school  visitors? 

28.  Are  there  vacation  schools? 

29.  Are  there  evening  schools?  How  long  are  they  open  each  3rear? 
What  courses  do  they  offer?  What  recreational  features  are  there? 

How  extensively  are  they  advertised?  Do  foreigners  use  them? 

Another  means  of  education  is  the  public  library. 

30.  How  many  free  libraries  are  there? 

31.  How  many  children  took  out  books  last  year?  How  many 

adults?  , 

32.  Does  the  library  encourage  its  use  by  publicity  work,  by  refer¬ 
ence  lists  on  current  topics,  etc.?  Does  it  have  books  in  the  language  of 
your  immigrant  population  ? 

33.  Is  there  a  reading  room  for  children,  and  a  children’s  librarian? 

34.  Are  there  branch  libraries  in  schools,  homes  and  shops? 

35.  Is  there  an  auditorium  in  the  library?  How  often  was  it  used 
last  year  for  neighborhood  gatherings,  club  meetings,  fiee  conceits,  etc.? 

Home  libraries  and  other  special  work  for  children  have  been  exten¬ 
sively  developed  by  the  Pittsburgh  Public  Library.' 

3.  JUVENILE  DELINQUENTS 

Not  only  must  the  new  attitude  of  the  school  toward  the  child  be 
utilized  for  the  betterment  of  children  in  our  community,  but  also  the 
new  attitude  of  the  court.  Does  a  city  s  court  still  consider  the  delin¬ 
quent  child  a  criminal  to  be  punished,  or  merely  a  wayward  child  whom 

*  See  “The  Public  Library,  a  Social  Force  in  Pittsburgh,”  by  Frances  Jenkins 
Olcott,  Survey,  March  5,  1910.  Price  25  cents. 

26 


it  must  protect  and  help?  In  all  stages  of  its  proceedings,  one  attitude 
or  the  other  must  be  evident. 

36.  Is  there  a  juvenile  court? 

37.  Are  all  cases  affecting  children  under  sixteen  brought  before  it? 

Does  it  deal  not  only  with  delinquents,  but  also  with  dependent,  neglected 
and  truant  children,  and  with  child  labor  cases? 

38.  Are  any  cases  of  delinquent  children  finally  transferred  to 
regular  criminal  courts  of  record,  such  as  superior  courts;  and  if  so, 
for  what  reasons? 

39.  Is  there  a  separate  detention  home,  or  is  the  child  kept  in  the 
jail  with  older  offenders? 

40.  Is  a  complete  investigation  made  of  the  conditions  of  the  child’s 
life  before  and  as  a  basis  for  the  judicial  decision?  Who  makes  it? 

41.  Are  full  records  kept? 

42.  Is  the  court  a  separate  one  or  part  of  a  police,  municipal  or 
other  court? 

43.  Where  are  the  cases  heard? 

44.  What  differences  are  made  from  the  ordinary  procedure? 

45.  Are  reporters  allowed  in  the  court?  Keep  a  record  for  a  month 
of  the  number  of  juvenile  offenders  whose  names  and  stories  are  given  in 
the  newspapers. 

In  some  so-called  juvenile  courts,  the  judge  still  sits  on  the 
bench,  the  police  officer  brings  in  the  offender,  and  the  case  is  tried 
much  as  with  adults.  This  is  not  the  real  spirit  of  the  juvenile  court. 
The  judge’s  powTer  is  in  the  close  personal  relation  that  he  establishes 
with  each  boy  brought  before  him,  which,  with  preliminary  knowledge  of 
the  conditions  of  the  boy’s  life,  makes  possible  intelligent  and  successful 
treatment.  For  the  juvenile  court  does  not  aim  to  punish  the  child  for 
the  offense  committed,  but  to  decide  what,  in  view  of  all  the  circum¬ 
stances  surrounding  his  life,  it  is  best  to  do  for  him. 

46.  Are  there  probation  officers?  How  many? 

47.  Are  they  paid  from  public  or  private  funds,  or  are  they  vol¬ 
unteers  ? 

48.  How  many  cases  of  delinquent  children  and  how  many  of 
dependent  were  before  the  court  last  year? 

49.  How  many  of  these  were  fined,  put  on  probation,  placed  in 
institutions,  or  dismissed? 

50.  Is  there  a  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children,  or 
Humane  Society  (dealing  with  children)  ?  Has  it  a  paid  agent?  What 
territory  does  he  cover? 

51.  What  is  its  relation  to  the  court?  What  constitutes  “cruelty”; 
what  “neglect”? 

52.  For  what  reasons  does  the  community  sanction  the  removal  of 
children  from  their  parents? 

Often  the  parents  because  of  immorality  and  neglect  are  really 
responsible  for  the  child’s  delinquency.  Does  the  state  recognize  this  in  a 
law  permitting  prosecution  of  parents  for  contributing  to  the  child’s  delin¬ 
quency?  Howt  many  cases  were  tried  last  year? 

The  answers  to  these  questions  can  easily  be  found  in  places  having 


27 


a  well-organized  juvenile  court.  In  places  that  have  not,  it  is,  if  any¬ 
thing,  more  important  to  study  the  situation  so  that  data  may  be  ready 
when  it  is  time  to  work  for  a  court;  it  is  equally  important,  if  there  is  a 
so-called  juvenile  court  that  is  not  doing  good  work. 

As  a  preliminary  step  to  creating  a  juvenile  court,  the  judge  may  set 
aside  one  day  in  the  week  for  children’s  cases  and  hear  the  cases  in  a  room 
separate  from  the  court  room.  To  demonstrate  the  value  of  probation,  it 
is  sometimes  possible  to  get  the  judge  to  suspend  sentence  in  hopeful  cases, 
putting  the  child  in  the  care  of  some  social  worker  known  to  the  judge 
who  acts  as  an  unofficial  probation  officer.  In  some  cities,  women’s  clubs 
or  other  organizations  have  paid  the  salary  of  a  probation  officer  until  the 
value  of  the  work  has  been  demonstrated  and  the  city  been  willing  to 
assume  the  responsibility  for  it.* 

By  careful  studies  of  the  circumstances  out  of  which  delinquency 
arises,  we  shall  get  light  on  conditions  which  must  be  remedied  for  the 
benefit  of  all  the  children  in  the  community;  on  the  need  of  more  amuse¬ 
ments,  the  unwisdom  of  forcing  widowed  mothers  to  go  out  to  work  and 
neglect  their  children,  the  need  of  better  child  labor  and  school  enforce¬ 
ment  laws. 


G.  ADULT  DELINQUENTS 

The  juvenile  court  has  led  in  pointing  out  the  need  of  a  new  point 
of  view  in  dealing  with  offenders  against  our  laws.  This  same  spirit  is 
gradually  being  extended  to  those  courts  which  deal  with  adult  delin¬ 
quents.  We  are  recognizing  that  the  treatment  of  them  cannot  be  uni¬ 
form,  that  it  must  be  based  on  knowledge  of  the  individual.  It  is  there¬ 
fore  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  judge  should  have  a  social  point 
of  view.  Are  the  courts  acting  intelligently  so  as  to  cure  the  delinquency 
which  exists  and  prevent  its  increase,  or  are  they,  by  their  methods  of 
dealing  with  petty  offenders,  tending  to  confirm  them  in  their  career? 

1.  Are  judges  or  magistrates  appointed  or  elected?  How  long  do 
they  serve?  What  are  their  qualifications? 

2.  What  courts  have  jurisdiction  over  cases  of  intoxication,  pros¬ 
titution,  disorderly  conduct,  non-support  and  vagrancy? 

3.  What  powers  and  what  options  has  a  magistrate  in  dealing  with 
cases  arraigned  on  such  charges? 

4.  How  many  cases  of  each  class  were  there  in  the  court  last 
year?  What  disposition  was  made  of  these  cases? 

5.  Is  there  adult  probation  for  men?  For  women?  Number  of 
probation  officers.  Number  of  cases  on  probation. 

6.  What  is  the  state  law  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  non-sup¬ 
porting  or  deserting  husbands? 

*  In  the  Survey  for  February  5,  1910  (price  25  cents),  is  a  full  and  sug¬ 
gestive  discussion  of  methods  in  juvenile  court  work. 

28 


7-  Has  a  deserter  ever  been  brought  back  to  your  state  by  ex¬ 
tradition  ?* 

8.  How  many  men  in  the  last  year  have  paid  toward  the  support 
of  their  families  upon  non-support  orders  through  the  courts?  How 
much? 

9.  To  what  extent  is  the  summons  used  instead  of  arrest? 

10.  How  long  are  prisoners  detained  at  the  police  station  before 
being  brought  to  court  ? 

11.  Does  the  arrangement  of  detention  rooms  and  jails  permit  proper 
separation  of  sexes  and  of  new  from  hardened  offenders? 

12.  What  are  the  correctional  institutions  in  your  city  and  state? 

13.  How  is  the  head  of  each  institution  appointed?  How  long  does 
he  serve?  What  has  been  his  previous  experience? 

14.  What  medical  attention  is  given  the  prisoners?  Is  work  pro¬ 
vided  for  them? 

15.  Does  any  association  visit  institutions,  getting  in  touch  with 
prisoners  before  their  discharge?  What  effort  is  made  to  help  them  on 
their  discharge? 

16.  Is  any  competent  group  of  people  in  your  community  striving 
to  eradicate,  minimize  or  even  just  study  the  social  evil? 

One  group  of  delinquents  which  creates  special  tasks  for  the  social 
worker  is  that  of  the  men  who  refuse  to  support  their  families.  An  inter¬ 
esting  attempt  to  deal  with  this  class  has  been  made  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
The  man  is  usually  put  on  probation  and  has  to  pay  weekly  a  certain 
proportion  of  his  wages  to  his  family  through  a  sergeant  of  police.  Con¬ 
firmed  offenders  are  sent  to  the  workhouse,  where  they  really  have  to 
work,  and  fifty  cents  a  day  from  the  proceeds  of  their  labor  is  paid  to 
their  families.  In  one  year  there  were  899  non-support  cases,  608  of 
these  were  placed  on  probation  and  paid  through  the  police  $38,319.65 
to  their  families,  while  the  payments  to  families  for  the  labor  of  men  in 
the  workhouse  amounted  to  $2340.f 

More  complex  even  is  the  problem  of  treating  cases  of  inebriety. 
The  repeated  short  term  arrest  has  proved  totally  ineffective.  Mr. 
Bailey  B.  Burritt  of  the  New  York  State  Charities  Aid  Association  tells 
of  one  man  sixty-one  years  of  age  who  had  been  in  the  workhouse  sixty- 
two  separate  times,  spending  3165  days  there  at  a  cost  to  the  community" 
for  maintenance  of  $1858.53.  This  treatment  had  not  served  to  reform 
or  strengthen  his  character. 

Adult  probation,  indeterminate  sentences,  farm  colonies,  medical 
treatment,  etc.,  are  all  elements  in  a  new  and  better  treatment  of  these 
cases.  In  New  York  a  Board  of  Inebriety  has  recently"  been  appointed 

*  By  a  requisition  issued  by  your  governor  upon  the  governor  of  the  state  to 
which  he  went. 

t  See  “Family  Desertion  and  Non-Support,”  Judge  William  H.  DeLacy, 
Survey,  February  5,  1910.  Price,  25  cents.  Also  “The  Present  Status  of  Family 
Desertion  and  Non-Support  Laws,”  William  H.  Baldwin;  address,  1415  First 
Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 


29 


to  whose  care  inebriates  are  committed.  The  Board,  who  will  have 
under  their  control  probation  officers  and  a  farm  colony,  will  consider 
what  treatment  is  needed  in  a  given  case  and  be  able  to  work  it  out 
consistently.  In  dealing  with  this  as  with  many  another  evil,  intelligent 
treatment  of  individual  cases  is  essential,  even  while  general  campaigns 
against  the  liquor  traffic  are  under  way. 

17.  What  is  the  state  law  governing  the  sale  of  liquor  in  your  town? 

18.  Is  it  a  license  or  no-license  town?  Number  of  licensed  saloons. 

?9-  Terms  on  which  licenses  are  granted  and  procedure  in  re¬ 
voking. 

1  20.'  ^re  sa^oons  forbidden  within  a  given  distance  from  school  or 
church  ? 

21.  What  regulations  are  there  as  to  the  sale  of  liquor  to  minors  or 
women;  as  to  Sunday  and  night  closing? 

22.  What  active  temperance  propaganda  is  there? 

111 — AGENCIES  FOR  RELIEF  AND  FOR  THE  IMPROVE¬ 
MENT  OF  SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

V  e  have  been  considering  the  factors  which  enter  into  community 
well-being — sanitation,  education,  industry,  recreation,  delinquency.  This 
discussion  should  have  made  it  evident  that  wholesome  conditions  do  not 
develop  spontaneously,  that  those  who  care  for  their  owh  cities  must 
learn  what  evils  exist  and  must  organize  to  make  their  demands  for 
improvement  effective.  Agencies  so  organized  employ  different  means  to 
this  end,  working  for  better  state  or  local  legislation,  or  for  increased 
activity  of  city  or  state  departments,  or  undertaking  certain  tasks  them¬ 
selves.  Most  of  all,  they  must  arouse  a  force  of  public  opinion  to  back 
their  efforts. 

Among  these  agencies  may  be  included  child  labor,  tuberculosis, 
tenement  house,  juvenile  court  and  playground  committees,  consumers’ 
leagues,  settlements,  etc.  Every  social  worker  should  know  specifically 
the  general  aims  and  the  plans  for  immediate  action  of  each  of  these.  If 
such  societies  have  not  been  organized  in  your  community,  learn  of  the 
work  they  are  doing  elsewhere,  especially  through  correspondence  with 
the  national  organization. 

Before  deciding  what  new  activities  should  be  undertaken,  a  careful 
study  of  local  conditions  should  be  made  in  order  to  demonstrate  which 
are  most  urgently  needed.  No  city  can  support  an  indefinite  number  of 
social  activities.  It  is  desirable,  therefore,  to  concentrate  interest  on  those 
most  essential,  leaving  for  a  future  time  others  less  important  though  still 
desirable.  Be  sure  also  before  you  start  a  new  agency,  that  there  is  none 
existing  able  or  willing  to  do  the  work.  One  small  city  has  a  tuberculosis 


30 


relief  society  with  a  paid  worker  on  half-time  who  dealt  in  a  year  with 
thirty-seven  cases  of  tuberculosis.  It  has  no  housing  committee,  and  no 
ordinance  compels  sewer  connection  for  the  houses,  though  more  cases  of 
typhoid  fever  than  of  tuberculosis  are  reported  to  the  board  of  health 
each  year.  There  is  an  associated  charities  in  this  place  which  should 
handle  both  tasks  through  special  committees;  it  confines  itself  at  present 
to  elementary  relief  work. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  outline  will  be  of  special  service  in  analyz¬ 
ing  the  community’s  social  needs.  A  brief  compilation  of  the  facts  called 
for  will  help  to  show  which  subjects  demand  immediate  concern. 

H.  AGENCIES  NOT  PRIMARILY  PHILANTHROPIC 

Agencies  not  primarily  philanthropic  are  most  helpful  allies — 
churches,  business  associations,  fraternal  orders,  settlements,  clubs,  etc. 
Many  social  activities  have  been  developed  by  an  active  woman’s  club,  and 
many  improvements  in  civic  conditions  fonvarded  most  effectively  by  busi¬ 
ness  men’s  organizations.  A  woman’s  club  in  Texas,  for  instance,  secured 
the  appointment  of  a  police  matron,  agreeing  to  pay  her  salary.  At  the  end 
of  six  months  she  was  put  on  the  city  pay-roll.  Then  a  probation  officer 
was  paid  by  the  club,  and  later  became  a  county  employe.  Now  they 
have  a  first-class  playground  director  and  hope  that  within  a  year  the  city 
will  pay  his  salary  also,  leaving  them  free  to  demonstrate  further  possible 
lines  of  advance.  Every  worker  should  know,  therefore,  the  personnel  of 
this  group  of  agencies  which  are  only  secondarily  philanthropic  and 
should  be  informed  upon  their  attitude  toward  social  problems,  their 
special  committees  on  social  topics,  etc.  He  can  then  utilize  their  interest 
and  influence  in  his  own  task.  A  card  catalogue  of  such  agencies  should 
be  kept;  taken  at  first  from  the  directory,  it  should  be  supplemented  by 
newspaper  clippings  telling  of  their  activities,  and  especially  by  facts  as 
to  their  methods  and  interests  drawn  from  the  worker’s  personal  experi¬ 
ence  with  them. 

x.  Fraternal  orders.  Number.  What  charitable  work  do  they  do 
aside  from  sick  and  death  benefits  to  members? 

2.  Women’s  clubs.  Membership;  objects.  What  committees  have 
they  on  social  matters?  What  active  work  have  they  done? 

3.  Business  men’s  associations.  What  committees  have  they  to  deal 
with  social  problems?  Have  they  co-operated  in  movements  for  better 
housing,  better  police  administration,  etc.? 

4.  Are  there  any  local  civic  improvement  associations?  How  are 
they  organized?  What  work  have  they  done  in  the  last  year? 

5.  Churches. 

(a)  Number  in  each  denomination. 


31 


(b)  Location  of  churches.  Is  there  a  serious  overlapping  of 
territory? 

(c)  Number  of  members  in  each. 

(d)  What  churches  have  paid  visitors? 

(e)  What  relief  organizations  have  they?  Are  there  St.  Vin¬ 
cent  de  Paul  conferences  in  the  Roman  Catholic  churches?  Do 
they  work  outside  the  membership  of  their  own  church  ? 

(f)  What  social  features  are  there,  sewing  schools,  clubs  for 
men  or  children? 

(g) _  Is  there  a  ministerial  association?  Does  it  discuss  or  take 
an  active  part  in  the  improvement  of  social  conditions? 

6.  Settlements. 

(a)  Number. 

(b)  Location. 

(c)  Number  of  residents;  number  of  non-resident  volunteers. 

(d)  Organizations  with  which  they  are  affiliated. 

(e)  Present  program  of  educational  classes,  social  clubs  for  men, 
women  and  children,  other  forms  of  recreation,  civic  activities,  etc. 

The  settlement  has  special  value  as  interpreter  and  as  initiator  of 
reforms  in  many  communities.  It  is  a  primary  source  of  information  on 
a  neglected  neighborhood  and  its  residents  can  give  invaluable  aid  in 
making  social  betterment  programs  effective. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  close  co¬ 
operation  with  the  churches  in  order  to  draw  upon  their  strength  and 
enthusiasm.  The  ministerial  association  might  be  urged  to  discuss  this 
Outline,  since  the  churches  sometimes  are  uninterested  simply  because 
they  do  not  know  conditions.  In  Buffalo  for  two  years  a  seminar  was 
conducted  twice  a  month  by  a  number  of  churches  jointly.  Each  meet¬ 
ing,  under  the  direction  of  a  separate  committee,  was  devoted  to  a  discus¬ 
sion  of  some  phase  of  the  local  situation,  such  as  industrial  conditions, 
provisions  for  education  and  amusement,  the  cost  of  living,  etc.  They  also 
made  “a  systematic  study  of  what  the  city  government  is  doing  for  the 
social  welfare  of  Buffalo,  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  development  of  its 
efficiency  in  this  direction.”  Any  group  that  had  made  so  careful  a  study 
would  control  a  powerful  lever  for  social  betterment. 

Especially  should  the  social  worker  secure  help  from  the  recent 
Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement.  Many  of  the  questions  in  this 
Outline  have  been  included  in  their  Social  Service  survey  blank,  and  their 
co-operation  in  working  out  the  answers  may  therefore  be  relied  on. 
Here  is  a  group  of  men,  some  of  whom  have  never  had  any  special  knowl¬ 
edge  of  social  work  before,  on  whose  minds  has  been  impressed  the 
church’s  obligation  to  its  own  community.  The  agencies  already  organ¬ 
ized  should  stand  ready  to  foster  this  enthusiasm  and  to  give  opportunity 
for  its  practical  expression  in  connection  with  their  own  work. 


32 


I.  PHILANTHROPIC  AGENCIES 

So  far  we  have  discussed  activities  which  tend  to  raise  or  lower  the 
social  efficiency  of  the  whole  community.  We  are  now  to  consider 
agencies  which  aim  to  improve  the  condition  of  individuals  or  families 
who  have  fallen  below  the  general  level  and  have  become  partially  or 
wholly  dependent.  These  two  subjects  are  closely  related.  If  wages  are 
low,  if  disease,  unwholesome  tenements  or  overwork  decrease  vitality, 
dependency  will  increase.  This  inter-relation  between  the  well-being  of 
the  community  and  that  of  the  individual  becomes  very  clear  to  one  who 
works  for  needy  families  in  their  homes.  It  is  in  such  work  that  many 
movements  for  social  betterment  have  had  their  birth,  for  the  home  is  the 
point  where  social  activities  center  and  at  which  their  failure  is  most 
apparent.  Moreover,  the  skilful  treatment  of  individuals  with  a  view 
to  rendering  them  as  soon  as  possible  normal  and  independent  helps  to 
ensure  steadier  and  surer  development  for  eveiy  other  form  of  social 
endeavor.  This  detailed  work  is,  in  fact,  both  the  source  of  social  energy 
and  its  conservator. 

Provision  for  the  dependent  is  a  public  responsibil^.  Certain 
classes  who  need  institutional  care — -the  destitute,  the  aged,  the  insane 
and  other  groups  of  defectives — are  usually  provided  for  by  the  state. 
Where  such  care  is  provided  by  private  charity  the  state  should  exercise 
some  supervision,  especially  in  the  case  of  dependent  children. 

1.  Have  you  a  state  board  of  charity?  How  appointed?  What  are 
its  powers? 

2.  Has  it  the  right  to  inspect  all  private  institutions  in  the  state? 

3.  Does  it  compile  facts  about  them  and  about  the  outdoor  and  in¬ 
door  relief  furnished  by  the  cities  ? 

I.  PUBLIC  OUTDOOR  RELIEF 

Much  discussion  has  centered  about  the  question  whether  public 
outdopr  relief  should  be  extended  by  giving  relief  to  needy  families  in 
their  homes.  There  is  the  danger  that  it  will  get  tied  up  with  politics. 
There  is  the  more  serious  danger  that  its  administration  will  become  cut 
and  dried,  that  relief  will  be  given  with  little  or  no  effort  to  do  construc¬ 
tive  work  with  dependent  families.  Public  outdoor  relief  is  still,  how¬ 
ever,  a  part  of  the  charitable  provision  of  most  small  cities,  and,  in  towns, 
is  often  the  only  provision.  The  officials  in  charge  of  it  should  realize 
the  importance  of  adopting  intelligent  standards  of  work  and  of  co-opera¬ 
ting  with  those  private  agencies  that  could  help  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  families. 


33 


4-  Is  there  public  outdoor  relief,  i.e.,  relief  to  families  from  the 
public  treasury? 

5.  How  is  the  overseer  appointed  ? 

6.  Has  he  other  duties?  Salary. 

7.  What  is  the  annual  appropriation  for  outdoor  relief,  made  by 
whom,  on  what  basis  ?  How  much  is  given  by  the  city,  how  much  by 
the  county  ? 

8.  Number  of  different  cases  aided  last  year. 

9.  Is  an  investigation  made  of  each  case  in  the  home  of  the  appli¬ 
cant?  By  whom?  What  records  are  kept? 

10.  What  references  outside  of  the  family  are  seen  ? 

11.  Among  the  families  aided,  what  proportion  were  families  of 

(a)  sick  breadwinners ; 

(b)  unemployed; 

(c)  able-bodied  men,  who  w-ere  drunken  or  lazy; 

(d)  deserted  wives  with  children; 

(e)  widows  with  children; 

(f)  how  many  were  aged  couples? 

(g)  how  many  were  aged  single  men  or  women? 

12.  What  is  the  maximum  amount  per  month  given  to  any  one 
family? 

13.  Does  the  overseer  exchange  information  and  willingly  confer 
about  families  with  the  agencies  referred  to  in  sections  3  and  4  following? 

2.  CARE  OF  HOMELESS  MEN 

One  person  for  whom  the  city  should  if  possible  make  provision  is 
the  homeless  man.  Too  often  the  treatment  accorded  him  is  help  from 
the  householder’s  back  door,  a  night  on  the  floor  of  the  police  station,  and 
free  transportation  to  the  next  town  in  the  morning. 

While  the  tramp  problem  is  more  pressing  in  large  cities,  it  still 
merits  careful  consideration  in  smaller  places.  In  a  few  instances,  such 
as  Evansville,  Indiana,  and  Sherborn,  Massachusetts — one  a  small  city, 
the  other  merely  a  town — officials  have  found  it  a  real  economy  to  main¬ 
tain  municipal  lodging-houses  on  a  small  scale.  Especially  do  small  rail¬ 
road  centers  need  an  intelligent  system  for  dealing  with  these  transients. 
As  a  first  step  toward  convincing  town  officials  of  the  possibility  of 
adequate  treatment,  try  to  get  them  to  sign  the  Transportation  Agree¬ 
ment.  This  agreement,  now  signed  by  over  four  hundred  charitable 
agencies  and  public  officials,  is  a  promise  to  provide  charitable 
transportation  only  after  an  investigation  which  proves  that  the  applicant 
will  be  better  off  at  his  destination,  and  then  to  send  him  the  entire 
distance.  This  method  proves  in  the  long  run  kinder  and  more  economi¬ 
cal  than  the  “passing  on”  system  now  too  often  used.* 

Such  a  study  of  individual  cases  will  show  the  need  of  care  and 
opportunity  for  the  honest  searcher  for  work,  and  of  deterrents,  such  as 

*  See  “Passing  On,”  a  pamphlet  on  this  subject  published  by  the  Russell 
Sage  Foundation,  sent  free  upon  application  to  Room  613,  105  East  22d  Street, 
New  York  City.  The  Foundation  secures  signatures  to  the  Agreement. 


34 


a  bath  and  a  wood-pile,  for  the  tramp.  New  York  now  has  a  farm 
colony  to  which  the  confirmed  vagrant  may  be  sent. 

14.  Is  there  a  municipal  lodging-house,  or  a  lodging-house  with  an 
adequate  work-test  for  the  homeless  supported  by  private  charity? 

15.  Or  is  the  police  station  still  used  as  a  lodging  place? 

16.  If  there  is  a  municipal  or  private  shelter,  what  attempt  if  any 
is  made  to  get  work  for  the  men  ? 

17.  Estimate  the  number  of  cheap  lodging-houses.  What  are  the 
police  or  sanitary  regulations  concerning  them  ? 

18.  Does  the  city  or  any  public  or  private  agency  give  transpor¬ 
tation  without  investigation?  Are  all  who  grant  charity  transportation 
signers  of  the  Transportation  Agreement? 

19.  Is  there  a  farm  colony  to  which  confirmed  vagrants  may  be 
sent?* 

20.  Is  there  a  city  ordinance  forbidding  street  begging?  What  are 
its  provisions?  Is  it  enforced? 

3.  PRIVATE  RELIEF 

With  homeless  men  as  with  many  other  dependents,  the  treatment  of 
the  individual  may  directly  affect  the  family  as  a  whole,  and  it  is  the 
family  that  we  must  chiefly  consider. 

The  first  provision  for  the  care  of  needy  families  is  usually  made  by 
churches  or  other  agencies  not  specifically  organized  for  this  purpose: 
They  often  have  little  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  their  every  charitable 
act  is  affecting  for  better  or  worse  the  efforts  of  others,  and  so  continue 
to  do  work  which  must  be  superficial  because  it  is  unrelated. 

2 t .  What  agencies  give  relief  in  the  home? 

22.  How  many  of  these  are  independent  organizations? 

23.  How  many  have  paid  workers? 

24.  In  those  that  have  none,  how  do  volunteers  divide  the  work? 

25.  To  what  classes  is  the  relief  given? 

26.  On  what  principles  of  decision  is  it  given  or  withheld  ? 

27.  Number  of  families  relieved  last  year.  Total  amount  in  relief. 

28.  What  records  are  kept? 

29.  Is  there  any  formal  or  informal  exchange  of  information  among 
the  agencies? 

4.  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  CHARITY 

In  places  where  a  study  of  social  conditions  shows  that  the  activities 
of  social  agencies  lack  co-ordination,  leaving  gaps  at  some  points  and  , 
overlapping  at  others,  the  next  step  is  to  create  some  central  agency,  such 
as  a  charity  organization  society  or  associated  charities.f  This  society 
will  make  a  careful  study  of  each  family  that  becomes  dependent,  devising 
on  the  basis  of  this  knowledge  a  plan  for  its  rehabilitation.  It  will  use, 

*  See  “Concerning  Vagrancy,”  O.  F.  Lewis,  Survey ,  September  5,  1908 
(25  cents)  ;  January  23,  1909  (10  cents)  ;  September  4,  1909  (25  cents). 

f  See  “What  is  Organized  Charity,”  a  booklet  published  by  the  Charity  Organ¬ 
ization  Department  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Room  613,  105  East  22d 
Street,  New  York  City.  Sent  free  on  application. 


» 


35 


in  working  out  this  plan,  the  help  of  all  the  existing  agencies,  co-ordi¬ 
nating  not  superseding  their  efforts.  It  will  save  that  duplication  of 
relief  by  which  a  family  sometimes  loses  its  independence,  but  its  methods 
will  assuie  far  more  adequate  relief  where  relief  is  needed,  and  will 
combine  with  this  relief  the  personal  service  needed  to  prevent  a  recur- 
lence  of  distress.'  H  hat,  in  its  work,  it  also  makes  use  of  the  unorganized 
social  spirit  of  the  community  is  shown  in  the  following  story  quoted 
fiom  a  recent  report  of  the  Associated  Charities  of  Atlanta,  Georgia: 

How  a  crippled  man  became  a  shoemaker  illustrates  an  agent’s  services  and 
the  organization  of  helpfulness. 

.  the  first  day  of  December,  1909,  as  this  man  walked  along  the  street  upon 

his  crutch,  a  gentleman,  noting  his  crippled  condition,  stopped  long  enough  to 
t°  go  to  the  Associated  Charities.  “The  gentleman  said  they  might  help 
him”  was  as  definite  as  he  could  make  his  appeal. 

A  kindly  interview  brought  out  the  facts  that  he  was  thirty  years  old, 
and  had  a  wife  and  three  small  children.  Until  a  year  previous  he  had  worked 
on  a  farm,  when  he  lost  his  leg  by  an  accidental  gun-shot  wound.  Coming 
into  town, .  for  he  could  no  longer  support  his  family  in  the  country,  they  were 
all  living  in  one  small  room,  rented  from  the  wife’s  sister,  herself  a  poor  dress¬ 
maker.  The  wife  worked  in  a  factory  and  was  earning  $4.50  a  week.  The 
husband  took  care  of  the  children. 

Why  couldn’t  your  wife  stay  at  home  with  the  children,  do  sewing,  and 
let  you  find  some  light  work?”  he  was  asked. 

“She  can’t  see  to  sew,  and  it  makes  her  eyes  hurt,”  was  his  reply. 

Let  us  set  down  the  rest  of  the  story  step  by  step,  just  as  an  agent  of  the 
Associated  Charities  brought  it  about: 

An  oculist  examined  the  wife’s  eyes. 

An  optician  gave  her  the  glasses. 

An  institution  supplied  temporary  employment'  to  the  man  at  which  he 
proved  his  willingness  to  work. 

Relatives  cared  for  the  children  while  both  parents  worked. 

A  shoemaker  agreed  to  take  the  man  in  his  shop  and  teach  him  the  trade. 

A  Sunday-School  class  provided  money  equivalent  to  the  wife’s  earnings 
so  that  she  might  care  for  the  children  while  the  man  served  his  apprenticeship 
in  the  shoemaker’s  shop. 

A  public  hospital  treated  both  husband  and  wife  during  temporary  sickness. 

The  same  Sunday-School  class  guaranteed  the  cost  of  a  shoemaker’s  outfit 
for  the  man  and  paid  rent  while  he  was  building  up  a  business. 

Numbers  of  individuals  were  found  to  give  him  work. 

The  result  has  been  that  this  man  paid  for  his  outfit  and  is  now  making 
three  times  as  much  as  his  wife  formerly  earned.  The  oldest  child  is  in  school, 
and  has  done  so  well  that  he  has  been  advanced  in  his  grade.  In  short,  a  hovel 
has  been  made  into  a  prosperous  home. 

When  in  its  work  for  individual  families  a  charity  organization 
society  becomes  aware  of  certain  causes  of  poverty,  it  attempts,  either 
through  special  committees  of  its  own  or  by  stimulating  the  formation  of 
new  agencies,  to  remove  these  causes.  How  such  work  is  inaugurated  is 
shown  in  the  report  of  the  Associated  Charities  of  Washington,  D.  C., 

*  See  “The  Good  Neighbor,”  Mary  E.  Richmond.  Sold  by  Charities  Pub¬ 
lication  Committee,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

36 


for  1909,  which  reviews  fifteen  years  of  work.  Recognizing  the  evil 
effects  of  bad  housing  on  family  life,  the  society  formed  in  1902  a  Com¬ 
mittee  on  the  Improvement  of  Housing  Conditions,  which  in  1905  made 
an  investigation  of  conditions  in  248  houses.  Two  years  later  the  work 
was  taken  up  by  the  President’s  Homes  Commission,  appointed  by  Presi¬ 
dent  Roosevelt  to  consider  housing  and  general  social  conditions  in 
Washington.  At  the  same  time,  to  cite  another  instance,  the  society 
through  its  knowledge  of  individual  families  was  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  appalling  death-rate  from  tuberculosis.  A  Committee  on  the 
Prevention  of  Consumption  was  appointed  in  1903  and  began  a  campaign 
of  education  and  prevention.  This  committee  was  later  succeeded  by  the 
Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  which  has  continued  and 
increased  this  work.  In  1895,  the  death-rate  from  tuberculosis  was 
283.8  per  100,000  of  population ;  in  1908  it  was  209.5. 

These  two  campaigns  illustrate  the  fact  that  a  society  is  most  effec¬ 
tively  aroused  to  public  action  for  the  good  of  the  whole  community 
through  direct  contact  with  the  lives  of  poor  people.  The  records  of 
many  smaller  societies  show  equally  fine  attempts  to  use  the  knowledge 
thus  gained  to  bring  about  improved  living  conditions.  It  is  perhaps 
unnecessary  to  add  that  this  work,  which  includes  the  rehabilitation  of 
individual  needy  families  and  efforts  to  lessen  the  social  causes  of  poverty, 
demands  skill  and  experience.  For  its  successful  carrying  out  trained 
workers  are  needed. 

30.  Is  there  an  associated  charities  or  charity  organization  society  ? 

31.  How  many  paid  workers  has  it? 

32.  Have  they  received  special  training?  Do  they  know  how  to 
make  good  investigations,  leading  to  constructive  plans  for  the  benefit 
of  families? 

33.  Are  careful  records  kept? 

34.  Does  the  society  maintain  a  confidential  exchange  in  which  the 
other  agencies  index  or  register  their  cases? 

35.  By  how  many  other  agencies  is  this  registry  regularly  con¬ 
sulted  ?* 

36.  Is  relief  given  from  the  society’s  own  funds?  Or  is  it  procured 

for  each  case  from  citizens  or  agencies  whom  the  society  interests  in 
a  plan  of  help  ?  1 

37.  To  what  extent  does  it  win  the  co-operation  of  such  natural 
resources  as  relatives,  friends,  former  employers,  fellow  church-members, 
etc.  ?f 

38.  How  does  it  classify  its  various  forms  of  family  treatment  in 
its  last  annual  report,  or  what  specific  problem  does  it  discuss  there? 

*  See  articles  on  the  confidential  exchange  by  Miss  Mary  E.  Richmond  and 
Mrs.  Anna  B.  Fox  in  the  Survey  for  March  18,  1911.  Price,  10  cents. 

f  See  “Relief,”  by  Frederic  Almy,  and  “Treatment,”  by  Porter  R.  Lee, 
booklets  published  by  the  Charity  Organization  Department  of  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  Room  613,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City.  Single  copies  sent 
free  on  application. 


37 


39-  Has  it  a  corps  of  volunteer  workers,  some  of  whom  are  doing 
personal  work  in  families? 

40.  What  active  committees  on  improving  social  conditions  has  it? 

41.  Name  any  special  branches  of  work  that  it  undertakes. 

If  there  is  need  of  such  an  organization  in  any  community  consult 
the  National  Association  of  Societies  for  Organizing  Charity,  Room  508, 
105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City.  If  one  already  in  existence  seeks 
advice  either  about  case  work  standards  or  about  the  further  co-ordina¬ 
tion  of  the  social  activities  of  the  city,  write  to  the  Charity  Organization 
Department  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Room  613,  105  East  22d  \ 
Street,  New  York  City. 


5.  CHILD  CARING 

Our  earlier  discussion  of  child  welfare  referred  to  children  who  are 
part  of  normal  homes.  For  another  group  of  children,  those  who  have 
no  real  homes  because  of  the  death  or  evil  character  of  their  parents,  and 
those  delinquents  who  the  court  has  decided  need  institutional  care,  some 
special  provision  must  be  made. 

42.  What  investigation  is  made  before  children  are  taken  from  their 
homes? 

43.  Who  determines  when  a  child  shall  become  a  public  charge,  the 
court  or  the  superintendent  of  the  poor? 

44.  Who  determines  the  length  of  time  the  child  shall  stay  in  an 
institution  or  foster  home,  and  the  conditions  under  which  he  shall  be 
discharged  ? 

45.  What  oversight  is  maintained  after  discharge? 

46.  Which  institutions  are  supported  wholly  by  private  subscription  ; 
by  public  funds;  by  private  subscription  and  public  funds?  Cost  of  each 
institution  to  the  community.  If  they  receive  a  public  appropriation, 
what  is  the  amount?  Is  it  given  as  a  lump  sum  or  on  a  per  capita 
basis  ? 

47.  Are  the  institutions  or  child  placing  agencies  governed  by 
private  boards  or  by  public  officials?  If  the  latter,  how  appointed? 

48.  What  is  the  general  character  of  the  institutions?  Cottage  or 
congregate?  What  industrial  training  is  given?  What  education  is 
given?  Is  school  maintained  in  the  institution;  or  do  the  children  go  to 
public  school  ? 

49.  In  placing  out  agencies,  what  investigation  is  made  of  the 
homes  before  a  child  is  placed?  How  often  are  the  homes  visited?  By 
wffiom  ? 

We  must  consider  not  only  whether  the  provision  for  the  care  of 
children  is  adequate  but  also  whether  it  is  sufficiently  safeguarded. 
Some  institutions  which  receive  a  per  capita  state  subsidy  are  over-willing 
to  receive  children,  and  take  those  who  should  be  cared  for  by  parents, 
relatives,  etc.  Again,  city  departments  are  not  always  well  equipped  to 
determine  when  children  should  be  taken. 

Interesting  facts  about  the  type  of  families  whose  children  are  being 

38 


cared  for  have  been  brought  out  in  a  study  of  children’s  institutions  in 
Pittsburgh  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation.  It  was  discovered  that  in 
half  of  the  families  studied,  the  parents  were  American-born;  that  in  a 
third  of  the  cases  both  parents  were  still  living ;  that  over  60  per  cent,  of 
the  parents  were  between  twenty  and  forty  when  their  children  became  de¬ 
pendent;  that  there  were  only  two,  three  or  four  children  in  the  majority 
of  the  families;  and  that  so  far  as  could  be  discovered  few  of  the  families 
had  been  applicants  for  charity  before  applying  to  the  institutions.  These 
facts — coupled  with  the  significant  one  that  more  than  half  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  when  admitted  were  between  the  ages  of  five  and  ten,  a  period  when 
they  are  particularly  susceptible  to  home  influences  and  individual  care — 
revealed  the  need  for  a  closer  scrutiny  of  any  and  all  grounds  which 
were  considered  sufficient  warrant  for  such  a  radical  upheaval  of  natural 
relationship  as  was  involved  in  transferring  these  children  from  home 
surroundings  to  institutions. 

Before  children  are  discharged,  the  society  responsible  for  them 
should  investigate  the  homes  to  which  they  are  to  go,  to  make  sure  that 
they  will  receive  proper  care  and  education.  The  advice  of  an  expert 
in  child  caring  work  is  needed  to  determine  whether  the  supervision  of 
placed-out  children  is  adequate,  or  whether  the  children  in  an  institu¬ 
tion  are  being  cared  for  on  modern  lines.  Such  a  book  as  Reeder’s 
“How  Two  Hundred  Children  Live  and  Learn,”*  wdth  its  suggestions 
of  how  an  institution  op  the  cottage  plan  may  give  normal  environment, 
is  helpful  to  all  workers  for  children. 

If  questions  arise  as  to  the  care  being  given  children  in  your  city  or 
state,  write  to  the  Department  of  Child-Helping  of  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

6.  CARE  OF  THE  SICK 

The  causes  of  sickness  and  the  steps  which  may  be  taken  to  prevent 
it  were  discussed  in  earlier  section. The  social  worker  must  also  be 
familiar  with  institutions  or  agencies  for  the  care  of  the  sick,  with  the 
classes  of  cases  they  provide  for  and  the  terms  of  admission. 

50.  Hospitals. 

(a)  Sources  of  support.  Amount  of  state  or  city  subsidy; 
endowment;  subscriptions  last  year. 

(b)  Number  of  free  beds;  of  pay  beds.  Are  these  adequate 
for  the  city’s  needs? 

(c)  Classes  of  cases  admitted. 

*  Rudolph  R.  Reeder,  “How  Two  Hundred  Children  Live  and  Learn,”  New 
York,  Charities  Publication  Committee, 
f  See  section  B,  page  11. 


39 


(d)  Is  there  a  separate  hospital  for  contagious  diseases?  If 
not,  what  provision  is  made  for  them? 

(e)  Is  there  satisfactory  ambulance  service? 

51.  Dispensaries. 

(a)  Number. 

(b)  Diseases  treated  (if  special). 

Number  of  patients  treated  in  each  during  the  last  year. 

(d)  Have  they  “social  service”  departments? 

(e)  Are  there  special  classes  for  the  instruction  of  mothers  in 
the  care  of  their  infants? 

52.  What  provision  is  there  for  tuberculosis  cases? 

(a)  Special  clinics. 

(b)  Sanatoria  for  incipient  cases. 

(c)  Sanatoria  for  advanced  cases. 

(d)  Are  there  fresh-air  schools  or  day  camps? 

53.  What  provision  is  there  for  convalescents?  For  incurables? 

54.  Are  there  any  diseases  for  which  no  provision  is  made? 

55-  Is  there  a  visiting  nurse  association?  How  many  nurses  has  it 
on  full  time? 

56.  What  other  agencies  have  visiting  nurses  on  their  staffs? 

7.  DEFECTIVES 

F01  defectives,  for  the  crippled,  deaf,  blind,  epileptic,  feeble-minded 
and  insane,  there  is  often  state  as  well  as  local  institutional  provision. 
Marked  improvements  in  their  care  and  education  have  been  introduced 
in  lecent  years,  and  it  is  important  to  learn  if  possible  whether  the 
agencies  in  your  state  measure  up  to  the  best  standards.  Is  permanent 
custodial  care  provided  for  those  feeble-minded  who,  if  at  large,  are  a 
menace  to  the  community?  Are  the  deaf,  the  blind,  and  the  crippled 
given  such  training  as  shall  enable  them  to  leave  the  institution  and 
enter  the  industrial  world,  thus  minimizing  their  isolation  from  normal 
people?  The  New  York  Charity  Organization  Society,  through  an 
employment  bureau  for  the  handicapped,  is  making  a  special  study  of 
defectives  and  trying  to  find  work  for  people  whom  ordinary  employ¬ 
ment  agencies  cannot  place.  For  example,  a  girl  with  only  one  arm  was 
secured  a  position  as  telephone  operator  at  the  switchboard  of  a  private 
office.  Similar  efforts  to  deal  with  individuals  can  be  made  by  any 
charitable  agency. 

Efforts  are  also  being  made  to  secure  early  treatment  for  those  who, 
if  their  disease  is  neglected,  become  defectives ;  such  as  the  provision  for  re¬ 
porting  ophthalmia  neonatorum  mentioned  on  page  13,  by  which  infantile 
blindness  may  be  prevented.  Again,  to  prevent  insanity  special  clinics 
for  nervous  and  mental  disorders  are  being  started.  The  terror  that 
accompanies  the  word  insanity  has  hindered  people  from  securing  the 
careful  treatment  that  might  prevent  purely  nervous  and  curable  dis¬ 
orders  from  developing  into  serious,  often  incurable,  insanity. 

40 


57-  What  care  for  deaf,  blind,  epileptic,  feeble-minded,  insane?* 
Educational  institutions  for  adults;  for  children. 

Custodial  institutions  for  adults;  for  children. 

58.  Are  they  state  or  private? 

59.  How  many  inmates  have  they? 

60.  Is  their  capacity  adequate  for  local  needs? 

61.  Are  there  special  non-institutional  agencies  to  enable  defectives 
to  become  self-supporting?  Trade  classes?  Employment  bureaus  for 
the  handicapped;  the  aged? 

62.  Is  there  a  special  clinic  and  a  hospital  pavilion  for  the  exam¬ 
ination  and  early  treatment  of  mental  and  nervous  disease? 

63.  Does  any  agency  undertake  the  after-care  of  patients  discharged 
as  recovered  from  hospitals  for  the  insane? 

8.  THE  AGED 

Dependent  aged  people  appeal  instantly  to  our  sympathy,  yet  for 
them  provision  is  often  most  inadequate.  Many  social  workers  know 
little  of  conditions  in  the  almshouse,  and  yet  complain  that  needy  old 
people  will  not  go  there.  A  volunteer  committee  under  the  New  York 
State  Charities  Aid  Association  has  done  a  kindly  service  to  some  resi¬ 
dents  of  the  New  York  almshouse.  One  of  the  chief  hardships  to  many 
formerly  active  people  is  the  enforced  idleness.  This  committee  provides 
material  out  of  which  the  old  people  manufacture  salable  things— rugs, 
raffia  baskets  and  other  household  articles.  They  have  sales  at  Christmas 
time,  and  the  proceeds  go  to  the  makers  for  tobacco  or  other  luxuries. 
Moreover,  really  respectable  old  people,  for  whom  there  is  no  provision 
in  private  homes,  should  not  have  to  mingle  with  the  frequently  disrepu¬ 
table  transients,  the  “ins  and  outs,”  of  the  almshouse.  New  York  and 
Boston  have  city  homes  for  the  aged,  separate  from  the  rest  of  the  alms¬ 
house,  to  which  only  people  of  proved  respectability  are  admitted,  and 
where  aged  couples  are  allowed  to  live  together.  It  is  worth  while  to 
consider  the  real  conditions  in  the  local  almshouse.  Is  the  city  asking 
respectable  aged  people  to  live  in  impossible  surroundings?  Have  all 
possible  efforts  been  made  to  better  these  surroundings  ?f 

64.  How  many  inmates  had  the  almshouse  last  year?  Cost  of 
maintenance.* 

65.  Are  there  restrictions  as  to  admission  or  discharge? 

66.  Is  any  record  kept  of  the  number  of  repeaters? 

67.  Are  there  feeble-minded  or  insane  inmates? 

68.  Are  children  admitted? 

69.  Is  there  a  hospital  ward  for  chronic  cases? 

70.  Are  there  any  volunteer  committees  who  visit  the  inmates? 

71.  Are  there  private  homes  for  the  aged?  Number  of  inmates  in 
each.  Terms  of  admission. 


*  Special  report  of  the  United  States  Census,  The  Insane  and  Feeble-Minded, 
t  See  “The  Almshouse,”  Alexander  Johnson,  Charities  Publication  Com¬ 
mittee,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

t  See  special  report  of  the  United  States  Census,  Paupers  in  Almshouses. 


4i 


It  may  seem  an  anti-climax  to  close  this  Outline  with  the  subject  of 
the  aged,  when  so  much  of  our  social  work  is  with  the  young,  but  there 
should  be  no  conflict  of  interests  between  these  two  groups,  and  there  is 
none  in  a  normal  society.  We  do  youth  an  ill  turn  whenever  we  set  it 
the  example  of  disrespect  to  age.  The  last  word  of  all,  however,  belongs 
to  the  children.  Are  conditions  in  your  city  such  as  to  create  a  whole¬ 
some  environment  for  childhood?  This  is  at  once  the  simplest  and  the 
most  searching  test  of  the  social  well-being  of  any  community. 


42 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 

Charity  Organization  Department 

OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

MISS  M.  E.  RICHMOND,  Director  FRED  S.  HALL,  Asso.  Director  MISS  M.  F.  B YINGTON,  Asso.  Director 


A.  SERIES  B  LEAFLETS 

I. 

What  is  Organized  Charity? 

2. 

Relief — A  Primer 

Frederic  Alrny 

3- 

T reatment —  ( F amily  Rehabilitation ) 

Porter  R.  Lee 

4- 

On  Being  a  Director 

Alexander  Johnson 

5- 

Passing  On  as  a  Method  of  Charitable  Relief 

No.  i,  6o  cents  a  hundred.  No.  3,  50  cents  a  hundred.  Nos.  2  and  5,  $1.00  a  hundred 

B.  MISCELLANEOUS  PAMPHLETS 

6.  The  Formation  of  Charity  Organization  Societies  in  Smaller  Cities 

Francis  H.  McLean 

$6.00  per  hundred 

7.  What  Social  Workers  Should  Know  About  I  heir  Own  Communities 

Margaret  F.  Byington 

5  cents  each;  $2.50  per  hundred 

8.  The  Inter-relation  of  Social  Movements,  with  information  about  sixty- 
seven  national  organizations. 

$1.50  per  hundred 

9.  The  Dominant  Note  of  Modern  Philanthropy  Edward  T.  Devine 

40  cents  per  hundred 

10.  Organization  in  Smaller  Cities  Alexander  Johnson 

40  cents  per  hundred 

11.  A  Modern  St.  George  Jacob  A.  Riis 

Reprinted  by  permission  from  Scribner’s  Magazine,  $1.40  per  hundred 

12.  Efficient  Philanthropy  Rev.  George  Hodges ,  D.D. 

$1.00  per  hundred 

C.  FORMS,  BLANKS,  ETC. 

13.  Telegraphic  Code  and  Transportation  Agreement,  15  cents  each 

14.  Model  Record  Form  (blue),  60  cents  per  hundred 

15.  Model  Record  Form  (yellow),  60  cents  per  hundred 

16.  Homeless  Man  Record  Form,  50  cents  per  hundred 

17.  Diagnosis  and  Treatment  Record  for  Families,  50  cents  per  hundred 

18.  Inquiry  Blanks,  20  cents  per  pad  of  hundred 

19.  Inquiry  Reply  Blanks,  20  cents  per  pad  of  hundred 

Sample  copies  of  all  of  the  above,  except  the  Transportation  Agreement,  will  be 
sent  free  upon  request,  or  in  quantities  at  the  prices  named,  plus  postage  or  expressage. 
Address 

Charity  Organization  Department 

of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 

Room  613,  105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City 


RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 
PUBLICATIONS 


THE  PITTSBURGH  SURVEY.  Find¬ 
ings  in  six  volumes,  edited  by  Paul  U. 
Kellogg.  8vo.  Profusely  illustrated 
with  photos  by  Hine  and  drawings  in 
tint  by  Joseph  Stella,  maps,  charts  and 
tables.  Price  per  set,  $9  net,  postpaid, 
$10;  per  volume,  $1.50  net. 

Women  and  the  Trades.  By  Elizabeth  Beardsley 
Butler.  Second  edition.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.72. 
Work-Accidents  and  the  Law.  By  Crystal  East¬ 
man.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.72. 

The  Steel  Workers.  By  John  A.  Fitch,  New  York 
Dept,  of  Labor.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.73. 
Homestead  ;  The  Households  Of  a  Mill  Town. 

By  Margaret  F.  Byington.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.70. 
The  Pittsburgh  District.  Symposium  by  John  R. 
Commons,  Robert  A.  Woods,  Florence  Kelley, 
Charles  Mulford  Robinson  and  others.  (In  press.) 
Pittsburgh:  The  Gist  of  the  Survey.  By  Paul 
U.  Kellogg.  (In  preparation.) 

CORRECTION  AND  PREVENTION. 
Four  volumes  prepared  for  the  Eighth 
International  Prison  Congress.  Edited 
bv  Charles  Richmond  Henderson, 
Ph.D.  8vo.  Price  per  set,  express  pre¬ 
paid,  $io;  per  volume,  $2.50  net. 

Prison  Reform.  By  Chas.  R.  Henderson,  F.  B. 
Sanborn,  F.  H.  Wines  and  others.  And  Criminal 
Law  in  the  United  States.  By  Eugene  Smith. 
Illustrated.  320  pages.  Price,  postpaid,  $2.67. 
Penal  and  Reformatory  Institutions.  By 
Sixteen  Leading  Authorities.  Illustrated.  346  pages. 
Price,  postpaid,  $2.70. 

Preventive  Agencies  and  Methods.  By  Charles 
Richmond  Henderson,  Ph.D.  440  pages.  Price, 
postpaid,  $2.68. 

Preventive  Treatment  of  Neglected  Chil¬ 
dren.  By  Hastings  H.  Hart,  LL.D.  With  special 
papers  by  leading  authorities.  Illustrated.  420 
pages.  Price,  postpaid,  $2.70. 

'  TWO  PRACTICAL  BOOKS  ON  HOUS¬ 
ING. 

Housing  Reform.  A  Handbook  for  Use  in  American 
Cities.  By  Lawrence  Veiller.  12mo.  220  pages. 

5  schedules.  Second  edition.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 

A  Model  Tenement  House  Law.  Giving  such  a 
law  section  by  section,  with  comment.  By  Lawrence 
Veiller.  130  pages.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25.  Also, 
a  Working  Edition,  printed  on  one  side  of  the  paper,’ 
unbound  but  wire-stitched.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25.’ 

WORKINGMEN’S  INSURANCE  IN 
EUROPE.  By  Lee  K.  Frankel  and 
Miles  M.  Dawson,  with  the  co-opera¬ 
tion  of  Louis  I.  Dublin.  450  pages. 
145  tables.  Bibliography.  Second  edi¬ 
tion.  Price,  postpaid,  $2.70. 

FOUR  BOOKS  ON  SOCIALIZED 
SCHOOLS. 

Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant.  By  Clarence 
Arthur  Perry.  Illustrated.  12mo.  404  pages. 

Second  edition.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 


Among  School  Gardens.  By  M.  Louise  Greene, 
M.Pd.,  Ph.D.  Illustrated.  12mo.  380  pages. 
Second  edition.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 

Laggards  in  Our  Schools.  A  study  of  Retard¬ 
ation  and  Elimination.  By  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  Ph.D. 
8vo.  252  pages.  Third  edition.  Price,  postpaid. 
$1.50. 

Medical  Inspection  of  Schools.  By  Luther 
Halsey  Gulick,  M.D.,  and  Leonard  P.  Ayres.  8vo. 
286  pages.  Third  edition.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.00. 

THE  STANDARD  OF  LIVING 
AMONG  WORKINGMEN’S  FAMI¬ 
LIES  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY.  By 
Robert  Coit  Chapin,  Ph.D.  8vo.  388 
pages. .  131  tables.  16  diagrams.  Price, 
postpaid,  $2.00. 

ONE  THOUSAND  HOMELESS  MEN. 
A  study  of  original  records.  By  Alice 
Willard  Solenberger.  i2mo.  398 
pages.  50  tables.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 
THE  ALMSHOUSE:  Construction  and 
Management.  By  Alexander  Johnson. 
Illustrated.  i2mo.  274  pages.  Price, 
postpaid,  $1.25. 

HANDBOOK  OF  SETTLEMENTS. 
Edited  by  Robert  A.  Woods  and  Albert 
J.  Kennedy.  8vo.  342  pages.  Price, 
postpaid,  $1.50. 

JUVENILE  COURT  LAWS  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES:  SUMMARIZED. 
Edited  by  Hastings  H.  Hart,  LL.D. 
8vo.  160  pages.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.60. 
CIVIC  BIBLIOGRAPHY  FOR  GREAT¬ 
ER  NEW  YORK.  Edited  by  James 
Bronson  Reynolds,  for  the  New  York 
Research  Council.  8vo.  312  pages. 
Price,  postpaid,  $1.50. 

SALESWOMEN  IN  MERCANTILE 
STORES.  BALTIMORE,  1909.  By 
Elizabeth  Beardsley  Butler.  Illu¬ 
strated.  i2mo.  234  pages.  Price,  post¬ 
paid,  cloth,  $1.08;  paper,  $0.75. 

IN  PRESS 

FATIGUE  AND  EFFICIENCY.  By 
Josephine  Goldmark.  Together  with 
the  substance  of  four  Briefs  submitted 
by  Louis  D.  Brandeis  and  Josephine 
Goldmark  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  (1908),  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Illinois  (1909),  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio  (1911),  and  again  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  (1912). 
Publication  date,  May  1,  1912. 


CHAFJTIES  PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE 

Publishers  for  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 

105  EAST  22d  STREET,  NEW  YORK 


. 


. 


'  l  1 1 


- 


